Box score (Game 1)

Box score (Game 2)

NEWARK, NJ—Utah Valley extended its remarkable Great West Conference baseball winning streak to 31 games with a 5-1 victory over NJIT in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium. But the Highlanders came back to win the nightcap, 9-7, snapping the UVU streak that dated back to 2011 and also claiming NJIT's first-ever baseball win against the Wolverines.
 
Utah Valley (11-18; 2-1 Great West), which has won all three regular season championships, plus every postseason tournament championship since Great West baseball play began in 2010, raised its all-time GWC regular season record to 78-4 with the 5-1 win in Saturday's seven-inning opener.
 
The Wolverines, who are also 12-0 all-time in Great West postseason tournaments, last lost a conference game on May 20, 2011, when they fell at home to Northern Colorado, 4-3, in the second game of a doubleheader in the next-to-last regular season game of 2011. UVU won the 2011 regular season finale, went 28-0 in the Great West in 2012 and then won the first two conference games from NJIT to begin 2013.
 
But NJIT (9-16; 1-2 Great West), which had been 0-14 all-time against UVU, finally broke through against the Wolverines, topping the visitors, 9-7, in a victory keyed by a seven-run third inning.
 
That seven-run inning gave the Highlanders an 8-2 advantage they would never relinquish, but the win did not come easily and there was a toll paid in injuries later in the game.
 
Trailing 9-2, Utah Valley rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning and NJIT needed another strong relief appearance by freshman LHP Ian Bentley, who finished with 2.1 scoreless innings to preserve the 9-7 win and record his second save.
 
Bentley, who yielded two hits and struck out one, now has two wins and a save in his last three appearances, all in relief, with 11 combined shutout innings.
 
Longer term, NJIT center fielder Ed Charlton, who went 2-for-4 with three runs batted in, left the game with an apparent hamstring injury after hobbling the last few feet into second base with an RBI double in the fifth inning. Later, Tyler Kapp, the starting right fielder recently, was forced out of action with a finger injury that came during an eighth-inning at-bat.
 
The historic pitching win for the Highlanders went to junior RHP Matt Coughlin (3-1), who held the visitors to two runs through the first six innings before tiring in the seventh inning and getting charged with four of the five runs scored by Utah Valley in the inning.
 
Leading 9-3 with the bases loaded and one run in, Coughlin handed the ball to reliever Bill VanMeerbeke, who was unable to hold the fort, allowing all three inherited runners to score, plus one of his own. Bentley, the rookie lefty, relieving VanMeerbeke, came on to face the potential tying run at the plate, but got the last out of the seventh inning and then kept Utah Valley off the board the rest of the way for his second save of the year.
 
The three runs that scored after he left inflated Coughlin's final line to 6.1 innings, 9 hits, 6 runs (5 earned), 3 strikeouts and a walk. Van Meerbeke pitched a third of an inning and was charged with a hit—a two-run triple by UVU's designated hitter Stone Ramsey--and a run.
 
The loss went to the first of four UVU pitchers, freshman RHP Danny Beddes (0-2), who left with the bases loaded and no one out in the third inning. He was credited with two innings pitched, allowing two hits and four runs (three earned), with three walks and two hit-by-pitch. The first reliever, senior RHP Justin Campbell, pitched two-thirds of an inning and allowed four runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. Sophomore LHP Braden Poole, the third pitcher of the third inning, finally ended it and posted 3.2 innings and one run allowed on five hits, with four strikeouts. Junior LHP Tory Ulibarri finished up with 1.2 innings of scoreless, hitless relief.
 
With 10 hits in the second game, including three doubles, NJIT got a 3-for-3 from DH Tom Bouck to go with Charlton's 2-for-4 and an 2-for-5 from 3B Mike Rampone.
 
Ramsey, the freshman designated hitter for the Wolverines, was 4-for-5, including two doubles and a triple, with two RBI in the second game after a 2-for-3 game, including a double, in Saturday's opener. He did not play in UVU's 3-1 win in the series opener on Friday. 1B Spencer Gothberg, 2B Willie Pratt, and CF Jordy Hart all added two hits apiece for the Wolverines in the nightcap.
 
Utah Valley never trailed in winning the first game. The Wolverines scored a run in the top of the first inning, but NJIT evened the game at a run apiece with a tally in the second inning. UVU then took the lead for good with two runs in the top of the fourth inning and added two more in the next frame.
 
Both starting pitchers went all the way in the seven-inning opener, with Utah Valley junior RHP Devin Nelson upping his record to 2-3 after allowing four hits and one run. He struck out three and did not issue a walk, but hit two batters. For NJIT, Mark Leiter, Jr. (3-5) allowed seven hits and three walks, plus three hit-by-pitch—all in the same inning—while striking out eight.
 
Five of Utah Valley's seven hits in the opener were doubles. Two of the doubles came from 2012 all-Great West Conference shortstop Kai Hatch (2-for-3), giving the senior 13 two-baggers for the season. Ramsey (2-for-3) also hit a double, as did Gothberg, and C Taylor Berg.
 
NJIT's four hits, all singles, came from four different men—1B Stephan Halibej, Rampone, 2B Jeff Peterson, and C Zack Renna.
 
Ramsey and Hatch joined forces to generate the first run of the day for Utah Valley in the first inning. With two outs, Ramsey singled and later stole second base, where he was driven home on Hatch's double.
 
The Highlanders built what would be their only run of the opener in the bottom of the second inning, as Peterson led off with a single and moved up on Kapp's sacrifice bunt. A hit-by-pitch and a Renna single loaded the bases, with the run coming home on LF Andrew Benjamin's fielder's choice RBI.
 
The 1-1 tie lasted until the top of the fourth inning, when Utah Valley went ahead to stay with two runs, the first scoring on a double by Gothberg and the second coming in on a Berg double. The Wolverines added on two more runs in the fifth inning on a Ramsey RBI double and a sacrifice fly for RF Riley White.
 
It wasn't until the second inning of Saturday's nightcap, the third game in the series. that NJIT took its first lead. But that lead was short-lived, as Utah Valley answered with a run of its own in the next half-inning. However, the Highlanders had their own answer back in the bottom of the third, when they scored seven times on four hits, aided by two Wolverine errors. UVU scored once in the fourth inning and NJIT added its own run in the fifth, before Utah Valley's five-run seventh inning closed the gap to 9-7, which was wound up being the final.
 
The first NJIT run started with a leadoff walk to Peterson before Halibej was hit by a pitch, The two moved up a base each on another Kapp sacrifice and a walk loaded the bases, with Peterson scoring from third on C Scott Brosman's sacrifice fly to center field.
 
UVU drew even on an unearned run in the top of the third. Pratt, the senior second baseman, singled leading off and moved up on a sac bunt by Hart. Pratt advanced to third on an error and later scored while NJIT was committing its second error of the inning. The first error was an errant pickoff throw by Coughlin and Pratt came in on a ground ball hit by Greyson Bogden, who reached safely on a miscue.
 
Errors played a role in NJIT's seven-run outburst in the bottom of the third, as well. Charlton, leading off, was safe at first base on an error. Rampone singled and SS Nick Swim was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Peterson, who walked, forcing home a run. Halibej singled to drive in the next run and Kapp picked up a run batted in on a bases-loaded fielder's choice. Bouck singled to drive home another run and the second UVU error of the frame brought home the fifth Highlander run of the inning before Charlton capped the scoring with a two-run single to left field.
 
Utah Valley picked up its second run in the top of the fourth inning, as Ramsey doubled leading off and eventually scored on a ground out by White.
 
NJIT added its ninth run of the game in the bottom of the fifth inning, but also lost its best player on the play for at least the rest of the game. Bouck opened with a towering double into the difficult sun field in left and he scored on a two-out double by Charlton deep to right center field. However, Charlton grabbed his right hamstring as he approached second base and he left the game in favor of pinch runner Andrew Benjamin, who stayed in the game in center field.
 
Down 9-2, UVU rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh. After an opening strikeout, the Wolverines touched Coughlin for four straight singles to score once and load the bases. The first run scored on a single by Pratt, the third in the string of four straight singles. VanMeerbeke relieved and hit Greyson Bogden with a pitch, forcing in the second run of the inning. Kallas drove in another run on a fielder's choice ground out and then Ramsey tripled through the right side of the infield to bring home what would the game's last two runs.
 
The teams will conclude the four-game series with a single game nine-inning game with a noon start Sunday at Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium.