SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Utah Valley University baseball team rallied for three runs in the seventh to tie the score at 3-3, but Texas State's Wesley Faison responded for the Bobcats with a go-ahead two-run home run in the eighth en route to leading Texas State to an Opening Day 5-3 victory on Friday evening at Bobcat Ballpark.
Â
The Wolverines fall to 0-1 on the season with the setback, while Texas State moves to 1-0 with the win. The contest marked the 2022 season opener for both teams and the first of a four-game non-conference series. It also marked the first game of head coach
Eddie Smith's career at Utah Valley as well as his first as a head man at the NCAA Division I level.
Â
"We work every day to boil the game down to a pitch-by-pitch approach. Our team did a good job tonight of keeping the pitch-to-pitch approach the entire game especially when we got down early," first-year UVU skipper Smith said. "We are here to win and to do that we just need to execute a little better in all facets of the game."
Â
Scoreless in the last of the second, the Bobcats were the first to get things going offensively with a trio of runs to take a 3-0 advantage. An error and couple of wild pitches and a walk aided Texas State in the frame, as two of the three runs in the inning came home unearned.Â
Â
Senior right-hander
Bobby Voortmeyer came on in relief with two outs in the third and did a nice job on the mound for the Wolverines, as he put up zeros on the board for 4.2 innings to keep it just a three-run deficit. He also fanned four Bobcat hitters during the stretch and retired the side in order in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.
Â
With Utah Valley still down 3-0 in the seventh, the Wolverines managed to jumpstart the offense en route to scoring three runs of their own to deadlock the score at 3-all. With the bases loaded following a single by
Garrett Broussard, a walk by
Mick Madsen, and
Drew Sims taking one for the team, senior outfielder
Mitch Moralez started the scoring with an RBI single to right to bring in Broussard and make it 3-1. Newcomer
Copper Hansen followed with a sacrifice fly to left to plate Madsen and make it a one run contest at 3-2. Later with the bases again full of Wolverines and two away,
Brody Ponti hit a sharp groundball to the left side to bring in Sims for the tying run, but Texas State shortstop Dalton Shuffield made a diving stop and managed to catch a UVU baserunner too far off the bag at third to end the threat and keep the ballgame tied.Â
Â
With the go-ahead run in scoring position for the Bobcats in the last of the eighth, TXST's Faison blasted out what proved to be the difference with a two-run shot to left to put Texas State up for good.Â
Â
UVU then got a one-out walk from Utah transfer
Kayler Yates in the ninth, but Texas State's Tristan Stivors responded by retiring the next two batters he faced to seal the win for the Bobcats.
Â
Despite striking out 12 and surrendering just one hit over six-plus innings of work, Texas State's Zeke Woods took a no decision. Despite a strong relief outing of allowing just three hits and two runs over 5.1 innings, UVU's Voortmeyer was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year. TXST's Stivors (1-0) tossed the final two innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for the Bobcats. Â
Â
Moralez and Ponti led UVU offensively by each going 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Broussard went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Faison paced TXST with a 3-for-4 night with a home run, two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored.Â
Â
The season-opening series will continue with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. MT/2 p.m. CT. The weekend will then close with the series finale on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT/noon CT.Â
Â