Courtesy UVU Marketing
UVU freshman pitcher Avery Sapp celebrates a good play during the 2024 season.
Freshman pitcher Avery Sapp tossed his second complete game shutout of the season to lead Utah Valley (20-26, 12-10 WAC) to a 4-0 win over the Southern Utah Thunderbirds (19-25, 8-15 WAC) on Sunday afternoon in Cedar City.
“Sapp was amazing this weekend,” said head coach Cody Thomson. “I believe she’s peaking at the right point in the season. Megan Gibbs keeps putting up consistent weekends for us, as well.”
Sapp — who came two outs away from another complete game shutout on Saturday — is the second Wolverine freshman to throw multiple complete game shutouts in a single season, joining Josi Summers, who threw two in 2011. Sapp has been lights-out of late, allowing just five runs in her last five outings (32.2 IP) and picking up 24 strikeouts.
Sapp had the Thunderbird hitters swinging under the high stuff all afternoon, recording 16 of her 21 outs via a flyout or popout. Sapp also held SUU hitters to just five hits, and never allowed more than one in an inning.
The Wolverines spread the attack up and down the lineup, as all nine starters reached base. Three of those starters reached base three times — Halle Morris went 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, and two walks, Megan Gibbs went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks, and an RBI, and Rachael Brown went 2-for-3 with a walk. Amber Rodriguez led the attack at the top of the lineup going 2-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.
Utah Valley struck first in the second when Peyton Hall was able to score on a wild pitch. The Wolverines pushed across single runs in each inning they scored.
Gibbs doubled home Morris in the third to extend the lead to 2-0. Rodriguez drove in pinch runner Libbie Hawker with a single up the middle for the third run of the day in the fourth. Morris capped off the scoring with a double to left center in the sixth that Rodriguez scored.
After allowing a one-out double, Sapp was able to slam the door in the seventh with a popout and a strikeout to end the game.
That came after the Wolverines and the Thunderbirds split a pair of games on Saturday, with SUU rallying for a 7-6 win in Game 1 while UVU got the 4-1 victory behind another Sapp pitching gem in Game 2.
Utah Valley caps off the road schedule with a non-conference clash at regional rival Idaho State on Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday’s game will be the 53rd all-time meeting between the Wolverines and Bengals, with the winner taking the lead in the series. First pitch is scheduled for 4 pm MT, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
UVU baseball overcomes late rally, beats CBU in 12 innings
Utah Valley University defeated California Baptist University 8-7 in 12 innings on Sunday afternoon at Totman Stadium.
UVU (22-22, 13-8) broke the tie in the 12th on Burke Camper’s 17th home run. Ethan Brodsky pitched 4.0 innings to earn his first win at UVU over CBU (28-16, 14-7).
“That was a great battle. Ethan Brodsky did a great job in relief, and it was another solid effort by the lineup to score a lot of runs,” said UVU head coach Eddie Smith.
The Wolverines led 7-2 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, only to see the Lancers rally for five runs to force extra innings.
Although CBU threatened to end the game in the 10th and 11th innings, it was Camper who came through with the solo shot at the top of the 12th to break the stalemate. The Lancers had a runner at third but Brodsky got a game-ending groundout to give UVU the victory.
The Wolverines will travel to St. George and play a non-conference game against the Trailblazers on Monday, Apr. 29, at 4:05 pm MT. They will return home for a four-game homestand beginning with a three-game series with Seattle U on Friday, May 3, at 6:05 pm MT.
Wolverine men’s golf finishes eighth at WAC tournament
Dane Huddleston led the Utah Valley men’s golf team at the 2024 WAC Men’s Golf Championship, shooting a final-round score of 1-over-par 73 on Sunday to finish in a tie for seventh with a three-round score of 2-over-par 218 (71-74-73) at The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines.
As a team, Utah Valley carded a 12-over-par 300 in the final round to finish eighth on the 11-team leaderboard with a three-round 31-over-par 895 (293-302-300). The Wolverines finished ahead of Seattle U (+37), Stephen F. Austin (+48), and Southern Utah (+66).
Grand Canyon won the WAC Championship team title with a three-round 12-over-par 876 (292-295-289).
Huddleston finished in a tie for seventh on the 54-player leaderboard with a three-round score of 2-over-par 218 (71-74-73). Huddleston shot a 1-over-par 73 in Sunday’s final round as he recorded a pair of birdies with 13 pars on the day.
The tournament wraps up the 2023-24 season for the Wolverines.
UVU track sets top school marks at Robison Invitational
Utah Valley University broke four school records and boasted a total of 17 Top 10 personal records this week at the Robison Invitational at BYU. Cameron Franklin had a big Saturday for the Wolverines, setting a PR in the 200 (21.13) while also running as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 squads to set new school records.
Caleb Furnell, Franklin, Kade Thompson and Gabriel Remy once again set the 4×100 record, winning the race in 40.0 seconds flat. Franklin joined Jacob Deming, Brayden Walker, and Isaiah Archer in setting a school record in the 4×400 (3:10.83). Furnell also won the 100 and had the No. 3 mark in the top 10 in the 100-meter sprint.
Kali McEuen, Ella Hopper, Larissa Dabb, and Kylie Hadfield also set a new 4×400 school record while winning the event on Saturday with a time of 3:42.90. Oakley Olson won the 3,000-meter steeplechase while her adjusted time of 10:22.36 was also a new program record. Also among the sprinters, Paige Young improved on her No. 3 mark in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.92 seconds.
Kelsi Oldroyd, who has won back-to-back WAC Field Athlete of the Week awards for her javelin performances, took first place in the long jump on Saturday. She hit 6.07 meters, which will contend for the top spot in the WAC this season pending the rest of the weekend’s results.
Also earning a gold finish this week was Austin Kleinman, who won the hammer after hitting 58.54 meters, less than one meter off his personal record.
Utah Valley will now prepare for the WAC Outdoor Championships, which will be hosted at Hal Wing Track & Field May 9-11 in Orem.
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