Utes Earn Comeback Win Against Utah Valley, 9-6

Tuesday, March 31

Orem, UT

6:00 PM

University of Utah

12-12

Utah Valley

7-19

Utah Valley

Utah

Utes Earn Comeback Win Against Utah Valley, 9-6

3/31/2009 12:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 31, 2009

Box Score

OREM, Utah - A six-run seventh inning lifted the Utah baseball team to a 9-6 victory over Utah Valley in Orem on Tuesday, March 31.

Down 6-3 in the seventh inning, Utah scored six runs to take a 9-6 lead. With Corey Shimada and Michael Beltran on base with one out, Nick Kuroczko walked to load the bases. C.J. Cron also walked to send the first run across the plate. After a pitching change, Austin Jones doubled to right center for two RBI and tie the game, 6-6. Cron would score on a wild pitch to give Utah the lead as Kevin Hussey walked. Tyler Yagi, returning from an injury, hit a double to deep left center to give the Utes a pair of insurance runs as Hussey and Jones scored.

Robert Chimpky and Greg Krause combined to pitch the eighth and ninth innings for Utah and preserve the lead. Each had a pair of strikeouts for the Utes. Chimpky earned his first win of the season while Krause picked up his second save of the year.

Jordan Whatcott got the start on the mound for Utah, going three innings and allowing one run. Bryn Card pitched the next three innings and Joe Pond also saw action for a part of an inning.

Shimada and Kuroczko each went 2-for-4 on the evening. Austin Jones and Shimada each drove in a pair of RBI.

"It was nice to score those six runs to open it up in the seventh inning after some blown chances earlier in the game," head coach Bill Kinneberg said. "I didn't feel like we played very well today in any phase of the game - but you have to move on. We did score those six runs and Chimpky and Krause did a nice job to put up some zeros in the late innings."

The Utes took a 3-0 lead in the second inning with a two-out rally. Kyle Myers led off the inning with a single up the middle before the next two Utah batters recorded outs. Zack Jones walked to put two on base and Shimada had the big hit of the inning with a triple to deep left center to put Utah's first two runs on the board. Beltran kept the inning going with a single to score Shimada before Beltran was caught stealing to end the inning.

The Wolverines got on the board in the top of the third after Jake Rickenbach's RBI single, scoring Kevin Arendse.

Utah Valley took the lead with a three-run fifth inning. Included in the rally was a two-RBI triple from Rickenbach. Austin Jones stopped the rally with a double play at first base with a leaping stab to catch a liner from Chris Benson and stepping on first to catch the runner off the bag. The Wolverines also scored a pair of runs in the top of the seventh with a two-RBI double from Jae Brinkerhoff, taking a 6-3 lead.

Utah returns to the field on Friday, April 3, against UNLV in Las Vegas.