Long road ahead for golf

OREM — With developments both good and bad, the Utah Valley State women's golf team found itself with a classic glass-half-full/glass-half-empty scenario on its hands last week at the Bobcat Desert Classic in Phoenix.

The good news for the Wolverines was that they put a full five-member team on the course for the first time in this, UVSC's inaugural season fielding a women's golf team. At the same time, the Wolverines could not escape the cold, hard reality that they finished dead last in the 16-team field, 55 shots behind 15th-place Wyoming.

"We have a long way to go to be competitive as a team," coach Denise Larson said. "But each tournament round we play helps us learn what areas of our game need more practice, and that can only make us better."

Sophomore Ashley Baldwin was UVSC's top scorer with a three-round total of 248 (32-over) that placed her 54th in the individual results. Local product Blayne Pilgrim (Timpview) shot a 95-over 311.

The week that was

BASEBALL: The Wolverines (4-11) gave a good showing over the weekend at UC Davis, beating the Aggies 4-2 on Friday before narrowly losing Saturday 8-7. Sunday's series finale got rained out.

Senior pitcher Kam Mickolio (1-4) got the win Friday by tossing eight strong innings. Saturday, when the seventh-inning stretch rolled around, the Wolverines led 7-2. But Utah Valley starting pitcher Kalen Parsons ran out of gas in the bottom of the seventh, and relievers Dan Christensen and Kyle Beecher couldn't quell the ensuing Aggie rallies. As a result, UC Davis scored three runs apiece in both the seventh and eighth innings for a come-from-behind victory.

SOFTBALL: UVSC (5-14) continued to struggle, with four losses at the OU/Fort Worth Invitational last weekend, extending its losing streak to 12 games. The Wolverines lost twice to both North Texas and No. 14 Oklahoma.

Utah Valley played tough Saturday despite losing both games. The Wolverines took the Mean Green to extra innings before finally falling 8-5 in the eighth. Thanks to a grand slam by right fielder Kaeleigh Forsyth, UVSC actually led the Sooners 7-6 through five complete before imploding and losing 19-7.

Following the two heartbreakers Saturday, the Wolverines came out flat Sunday and played poorly; UVSC lost its pair of Sunday games by a combined score of 21-1.

Wolverine of the week