It is officially baseball season in Utah Valley. For the first time this year, UVU played in front of its home
crowd and showed why the comforts of home are so singular. The Wolverines hammered out twenty
hits in a 17-6 win in game one against the Nevada Wolf Pack, putting on a show for the spectators. The
team tallied 6 extra-base-hits, slugging an incredible .718.
Freshman Stone Ramsey drove in five runs batting at the top of the order for the Wolverines and
sophomore Kade Andrus added four RBIs of his own. Junior catcher Court Zollinger led UVU with four
hits. With strong run support, sophomore Ty Hansen was able to earn the win after entering the game in
the first inning in relief and pitching 4.1 innings, striking out six without allowing a run.
“I thought Ty came in and changed the whole outcome of the game for us,” said Head Coach Eric
Madsen. “Nevada is a very good club, a great hitting team, and to be able to keep them off the board
after we scored three in the first and then put more zeroes up in the innings after… that was the
difference in the game.”
The Wolverines won game two, 6-5, thanks to some late game heroics. With the Wolverines trailing 5-4
in the bottom of the eighth, Andrus singled and advanced to second after freshman Beau Kallas was hit
by a pitch. Andrus later scored on a passed ball before Ramsey stepped to the plate with two outs. The
third basemen came through in the clutch, sending a single to center that allowed Kallas to score the go-
ahead run.
The win was again awarded to a Utah Valley reliever, junior Ryan Evans capturing the decision after his
1.2 hitless innings of pitching ended the game.
“We stayed with it and battled and fought and that’s what we hope the guys will do every day,” Coach
Madsen said.
The Wolverines again clawed away at a Wolf Pack lead in the series finale but never got within four
runs after trailing, 7-0 through the first five and a half innings. The Wolf Pack ultimately won, 10-3. Left
fielder Andrus had another three hits to pace UVU offensively and finished the home stand 7-for-12 with
three runs scored and five RBIs.
“It’s always important to play well at home, especially since we have so many road games ahead of us,”
said Andrus. “I think it’s good to have this home series and to play well. You know we wanted the game
today but we did play well the past couple games and hopefully we can take that into our next couple
series.”
An error prolonged the second inning and Nevada capitalized, scoring three unearned runs against UVU
starter Andrew Freter. The Wolf Pack never relinquished the lead after the inning.
“The second inning we have three outs that should be made and that really changes the whole outcome
of the game,” Coach Madsen said. “I thought [Andrew] really threw the baseball well. I mean he made
a couple of mistakes but defensively we weren’t really aggressive during that inning and that’s haunted
us.”
The Wolverines hope to continue the offensive success that saw them record a .355 team batting
average over the three game home series and slug an impressive .495. Stone Ramsey was a big part of
the gaudy numbers UVU put up, going 4-for-11 with six RBIs and four runs scored.
“[I’m] just staying relaxed,” said Ramsey. “I’m not trying to do anything special but just stay relaxed and
have fun up there.”
UVU next plays at Texas Tech in a three game series beginning Tuesday, Mar. 12.
Byline: Kyle Spencer
