OREM — As is the case with hundreds of other young-adult males residing in Utah County, Jace Brinkerhoff and Austin Heaps are doing a lot of growing up as college freshmen. Not only are Brinkerhoff and Heaps living away from home for the first time, but they're also preparing for LDS missions.
Brinkerhoff and Heaps, however, are not your typical, run-of-the-mill dorm-dwellers. They are two of the best baseball talents not named Pawelek to come out of Utah County in quite some time, and both star for a fledgling Utah Valley State baseball team that is looking for a foothold in Division I.
The back story
Brinkerhoff led Spanish Fork to the 5A state title last year with both his arm and his bat. On the mound, he went 9-2 with a 2.23 ERA, and at the plate he raked to the tune of a .515 average and two home runs. No eyebrows were raised when Brinkerhoff was named the 2006 5A MVP.
Up the road at Timpanogos, Heaps did all he could to try and get the T-Wolves to a third straight state title in 2006. As a senior, Heaps was a hitting machine spraying line drives to all fields; he slammed five home runs, recorded 32 RBI and his .603 batting average not only set a school record but also ranked seventh-best in state history. Though Timp's reign as state champ ended when it narrowly missed out on a playoff berth because of a brutally competitive Region 4, it was not through any fault of Heaps that the T-Wolves couldn't keep their throne.
Somewhat surprisingly, the interest level of college recruiters and pro scouts in the pair was tepid at best. According Brinkerhoff and Heaps, Salt Lake Community College was eager to land the pair; although BYU recruited both of them, scholarship offers from the Cougars never materialized.
Playing at UVSC
From the get-go, Utah Valley State head coach Steve Gardner was keen on the idea of keeping local talent like Brinkerhoff and Heaps close to home.
"We want to get the best local players we can and give them that opportunity to play," Gardner said. "Heck, (Brinkerhoff and Heaps) are outstanding players and that's what we want. It just serves to let the local high school players know that they have an opportunity to play here."
Gardner's sales pitch wasn't the only thing attracting Brinkerhoff and Heaps to UVSC. Other considerations included being able to stay close-but-not-too-close to home (the pair share an Orem apartment) and playing at a school where they've each come for summer youth baseball camps since pre-adolescence.
Not only did Gardner and his staff show significant interest in the two players, but the coach also made it clear to them that they would have a chance to immediately earn playing time.
"If they're good enough to play, they're going to play," Gardner said. "I mean, it makes sense. Because they're going to leave, let's take care of it now. Let's do things now, and when they come back we'll do it again."
Brinkerhoff and Heaps quickly took advantage of Gardner's philosophy by earning regular spots in the lineup.
As a starting pitcher Brinkerhoff is an unspectacular 2-5 with a 5.40 ERA, but his two wins were of the complete-game variety and he leads the UVSC staff with 30 strikeouts. Since mid-March, Brinkerhoff has played third base on days when he doesn't pitch; his .344 average is tops on the team.
Playing left field and batting in the middle of the order, Heaps started out slow but is now in the midst of a torrid stretch. He's riding a six-game hitting streak, and his 8-for-13 performance in last weekend's series with South Dakota State raised his average more than 50 points to .318. In a 3-2 win at Southern Utah on Feb. 22, Heaps smacked a game-winning, two-RBI double with two outs in the ninth inning.
Predecessors
Before Brinkerhoff and Heaps, Chris Benson and Kyle Beecher were two local products who shined as freshmen for UVSC prior to becoming missionaries. Last season Benson (Mountain View) hit .367 with four triples and 36 RBI, while Beecher (Pleasant Grove) anchored the Utah Valley bullpen with a 2-1 record, one save and team-best 4.60 ERA. Both are currently serving LDS missions, Benson in Argentina and Beecher in Chicago.
"In a way, it was hard for Chris to leave baseball because he loves baseball and he'd just as soon play baseball as anything else," said Richard Benson, father of Chris. "But he also had spent a lot of time with situations that gave him confidence in the fact that he could be a missionary and then come back and be a good baseball player, too.
"It was a thrill seeing Chris play as a freshman. In fact, we miss it a lot. Besides missing him for who he is, we miss the games. But we're looking forward to when he gets back and goes to UVSC, gets on the team and plays again."