OREM, Utah- It was a cold and rainy night in Utah tonight as the Lumberjacks came from behind to defeat Utah Valley, 6-3, overcoming 3 first inning runs by the Wolverines. The Jacks improve to 21-23 on the season, while Utah Valley drops to 23-21.
In the first, it was a familiar face doing damage, as Alex Rodgers belted a 2-2 pitch over the fence for his ninth home run of the season to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the first, the Wolverines took the lead on an RBI groundout by Calyn Halvorson and a two RBI single by Trey Cutchen. That was all the Wolverines could get on the night, as senior righty Joe Richter dominated Utah Valley and stayed in complete control the entire night. His final line: 9 IP, 4 hits, 3ER, 4 BB, 10 strikeouts. In simple terms, Richter was phenomenal.
It was Rodgers again in the top of the second, doubling to left field and scoring two. In the third, Cole Hill hit his fourth homer of the year to left field to extend the Jacks lead to 4-3. For the final runs of the game, shortstop Julian Thompson smoked a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall for his fifth homer of the year to give the Jacks a 6-3 lead, and that score would remain, as the Jacks started off the series victorious in Utah.