Not many teams get to end their season with a win, but at least one other collegiate team besides the eventual College World Series winner will finish with a victory this season.
Utah Valley State College, which plays as a Division I independent, concluded its season with a 14-5 victory over Utah on Wednesday afternoon at Ute Field.
The victory also allowed the Wolverines to finish with a winning record of 19-17, despite only playing seven home games.
"You're always happy when that happens," said UVSC coach Steve Gardner of the decisive victory. "Our guys battled hard."
With Wednesday's victory, the Wolverines tied the season series with the Utes at 3-3. The Utes had won 7-4 in Provo the night before, the first road win in the series after the two teams split the first four games with home wins.
Gardner is the first to admit that Utah didn't always throw its best pitchers against his team because they saved them for the weekend Mountain West Conference games. Still, he was happy to take the win.
"Everybody's trying to win with whoever's out there," Gardner said. "It's been a fun series."
The Wolverines teed off on freshman John Welsh in the first inning with three runs. Josh Hinckley hit the first of three doubles and drove in a run, and Todd Bateman doubled Hinckley home.
After the Utes scored single runs in the first two innings, UVSC exploded for five runs in the third off Garrett Goff with Dan Bulow's three-run homer the big blow. Bulow knocked in another run in the fourth with a single as the Wolverines increased their lead to 10-3. UVSC batted around in the seventh and added three more runs before capping the scoring with one in the ninth.
Canyon Vance went 3-for-4 with a double for UVSC, while Hinckley went 3-for-6 with three doubles and three RBIs. Jed Jensen improved to 6-3 on the season, allowing three runs in eight innings on the mound.
Mike Westfall hit a home run for the Utes, while Matt Ciaramella, T.J. Floyd and Jake Basham each had two hits.
The Utes (20-28), who had won seven straight before Wednesday, head for Las Vegas where they'll play MWC leader UNLV in a four-game series with a game Friday, two Saturday and one Sunday.
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