Wolverines get first-ever win over BYU

OREM — The Utah Valley State baseball team earned its first ever victory over cross-town rival BYU on Monday night, winning 7-4 under consistent rain showers.

Down 7-2 entering the top of the ninth, the Cougars quickly scored a run then loaded the bases, bringing the tying run to plate. After Apana Nakayama drove in Kevin Sloan with a single, Adrian Molina got caught in a rundown between home plate and third base. Wolverine catcher Cory Newton then tagged out Molina, registering the last out of the game.

"A game ends like that, it's shocking," said Wolverine head coach Steve Gardner.

The Cougars defeated the Wolverines in the first three meetings between the two schools this season. Before this year, BYU (26-10-1) and UVSC (12-29) had never played each other.

"You gotta give the guys all the credit," Gardner said. "We had a lot of intensity, and we win when we play harder.

On the second Monday in as many weeks, Utah Valley State sneaked a win away from another instate Division I school. The Wolverines defeated Utah last week.

"We oughta play on Monday more often," Gardner said.

Some could say both Utah and BYU were coming off of and preparing for important Mountain West Conference games as they met Utah Valley State, but after Monday's game with the Cougars and today's game with the Utes, the Wolverines will have played eight games in eight days.

BYU and Utah meet this weekend for a three-game set in Salt Lake City.

To further complicate things for the Wolverines, after the Wolverines' four-game sweep at the hands of Sacramento State finished Sunday, the team returned in the middle of the night only to be stranded in Elko, Nev., for seven hours as the team's bus busted a radiator hose. After leaving Sacramento at 5 p.m. the day before, the team didn't return home until noon Monday, with only a few hours to prepare for the night's game.

The Wolverines struck first and never lost the lead. In the first inning, after leadoff hitter Kory Drew doubled, Nick Connor knocked him in with an RBI single. Trent Perry then scored Connor as he hit into a double play.

Meanwhile, Utah Valley State starter Kyle Tash pitched a complete game, allowing just four runs and 13 scattered hits while striking out six. Tash held the Cougars scoreless with just three hits after four innings. At one point in the fifth inning, Tash had struck out four out of five BYU batters.

"He went the distance, and it rained the whole game," Gardner said. "He deserved the chance to try and beat them."