@NCBearsBaseball Defeats Both Utah Valley and Mother Nature

Saturday, April 18

Greeley, Colo.

Noon

University of Northern Colorado

10-21, 7-6

Utah Valley

12-22, 8-5

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Utah Valley	0	0	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	6	9	3
Northern Colorado	4	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	X	7	10	2

4/18/2015 5:43:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Northern Colorado defeated Utah Valley 7-6 Saturday, while also battling Mother Nature.

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

GREELEY—Northern Colorado baseball defeated Utah Valley 7-6 Saturday afternoon at Jackson Stadium. The teams not only battled against each other, but Mother Nature as well. In between the sixth and seventh inning a hail and rain storm caused an hour and ten minute delay in the game.
Coming out of the delay the teams were tied at six with the three innings to go.

In the bottom of the seventh Jensen Park (Kaneohe, Hawaii) got a Bears rally going with a double d own the left field line. He was then sacrificed over by Vaughn and brought home by a Marco Castilla (Littleton, Colo.) single through the right side of the infield to score the game winning run.

"Timely hitting was huge for us all game. Even with the four run first running inning I knew Utah Valley was going to come back and make a charge on us," head coach Carl Iwasaki said. "I was pleased with the way the guys responded after the game got tied up and the delay."

Park finished the day with a game-high three hits in five at bats, scoring twice and driving in another run. Park is now tied with Kevin Sandberg (2006-09) for the most hits in program history at 243.

Cole Maltese (Superior, Colo.) and Ryen Sugai (Honolulu, Hawaii) also recorded multi-hit games for UNC. Combined, the duo went 4-for-7 with two runs scored and three RBI.

Northern Colorado had Sugai and Park reach base to start the game, both with singles. They advanced into scoring position in Park's at bat when UVU pitcher Danny Beddes mishandled the bunt and threw it away.

The Bears then loaded the bases with another error from Beddes and a walk, before Maltese hit a bases clearing double to the right-center gap.

After starter Spencer Applebach (Gilbert, Ariz.) got Utah Valley to leave the bases loaded in the top half of the second, UNC added another run in the bottom part.
Sugai walked to start the inning and stole second before advancing to third on a failed pickoff attempt. He finished the game with two stolen bases.

Applebach went five inning strong for the Bears, allowing five runs on four hits while striking out a career-high eight batters.

"Spencer Applebach responded really well today after a disappointing outing in his last start and got us deep into the game which helped us," said Iwasaki.

After Applebach, Justin Mulvaney (Arvada, Colo.) and Allen Cook (Friendswood, Texas) pitched the final four innings allowing just one run on six hits. Cook picked up his first career victory on the day.

The Wolverines cut into the Bears' lead in the fourth putting up three runs. UNC got a run back in the bottom part of the inning when Sugai singled with two outs. He stole second for the second time in the game. Park then singled to left field to score Sugai.

After back-to-back walks for Utah Valley in the sixth, left fielder Kade Andrus hit a game tying three run home run.

Mother Nature decided to join the teams after the inning bringing the game to a sudden halt.

The final two games of the series will be played tomorrow starting at 11:00 a.m. at Jackson Field.

"We have two chances to win the series tomorrow, and we are moving forward to those games now," Iwasaki said. "This is an important weekend for us and we got off to a good start."