UVU Baseball--Wolverines Come Up Short at No. 17 Arizona Add Comment    Mar 05, 2011

TUCSON, Arizona --  Utah Valley had the tying run at third with two outs in the eighth but fell short for the second straight game against 17th-ranked Arizona, 6-3, on Saturday in Tucson.-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

With the Wolverines (3-6) trailing 4-2 in the eighth inning, Chris Benson collected his fourth base hit of the day and advanced to second when Willie Pratt went first-to-third. Pratt would come home on a wild pitch to make it 4-3 but Benson, the tying run, was stranded at third.

"We're playing better baseball but we've got to knock in runs when we have opportunities," said UVU head coach Eric Madsen. "That's been the difference in these games. We have to get the big hits when we get the chance."

Arizona scored twice in the third to take an early lead when Jett Bandy doubled to left with two outs to drive in a pair.

The Wolverines answered in the fourth to tie it though. Benson singled to right and after Kirk Doxey sacrificed him over, Austin Heaps doubled to left to plate Benson. Goose Kallunki then lined a single into right-center to bring home Heaps and knot thd game at 2-2.

The Wildcats scored twice more in the fifth to retake the lead for good. A sac-fly and a fielder's choice brought home the two runs after Arizona loaded the bases with nobody out.

After the Wolverines got the run in the eighth, Arizona plated two insurance runs in the bottom of the inning for the final 6-3 tally.

Kyle Simon (3-0) threw 7.1 innings allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out six to pick up the win for the Wildcats. Nick Cunningham threw the final 1.2 innings to get the save. Justin Campbell (0-2) took the loss after allowing four runs in 5.2 innings.

In addition to Benson's four hits, Heaps had two hits for the Wolverines. Bryce Ortega had three hits for the Wildcats while Bandy drove in three runs on the night.

The series finale is set for Sunday at noon with senior righthander Kyle Beecher scheduled to take the mound against Tyler Hale.

-Utah College Sports News staff and wire reports

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Utah College Sports Wire