Kiel's Bat Helps @NCBearsBaseball Earn First WAC Tournament Win

Wednesday, May 24

Mesa, Ariz.

4:00 pm

University of Northern Colorado

23-28

Utah Valley

18-35

Northern Colorado

Utah Valley

5/24/2017 8:57:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

UNC baseball earned its first ever win at the WAC Tournament Wednesday 6-4 over Utah Valley

By: Ryan Pfeifer, UNCBears.com

MESA, Ariz. - Northern Colorado baseball rode hot bats earlier and earned its first ever WAC Tournament win on Wednesday afternoon defeating Utah Valley 6-4.

How It Happened

Northern Colorado used a pair of singles and a wild pitch to earn the early 1-0 lead. Alex Kiel recorded the first hit of the game with a blooper to right field. He advanced on a wild pitch when teammate Cole Maltese was at bat to move into scoring position. Maltese came through for the team, when he hit a ball over the head of UVU's second baseman to drive home Kiel who beat out a throw at the plate.

After starter Troy Watson put Utah Valley down in order in the first, the Bears added to their lead in the second. It all began when freshman DH, Matt Burkart drew a one-out, four-pitch walk. Dean Lawson then walked to put a pair on with no outs. UNC ended up loading the bases after Tyler Yamaguchi reached on a fielder's choice and a Nick Tanner infield single. Kiel came through with the big hit of the inning as he doubled to the right center wall, clearing the bases. Jack Pauley switched spots with Kiel to cap off a four-run inning making it 5-0 Bears through one and a half innings.

Watson sat down the first seven batters he faced, before Utah Valley strung together a single, triple and single in the bottom of the third, cutting the lead to 5-2.

Northern Colorado knocked UVU's starter Jackson Cofer out of the game with a double and pair of singles from Tanner, Kiel and Pauley. In the process, UNC increased its lead to 6-2. The team had the opportunity to extend the lead further, loading the bases with no outs, but were unable to take advantage of the situation.

After the fourth, Utah Valley did a good job of not allowing another Northern Colorado hit in the game. That didn't mean the team was without base runners though, as UNC ended up leaving the bases loaded in the eighth.

While the Bears offense was quieted, Utah Valley chipped away at the lead with a run in both the fifth and eighth inning. UVU had opportunities to tie or take the lead in the game, but the pitching efforts from Jacob Howard and Connor Leedholm shut the door on any type of comeback.

Game Changer

Catcher Alex Kiel was locked in from the first pitch of the game, and was the catalyst for the team's offense all game long. He was 3-for-3 on the day scoring twice and driving home three more runs. He also drew a pair of walks to go 5-for-5 in plate appearances.

Notable

- The win in the first in Northern Colorado baseball history at the WAC Tournament. Prior to today's game UNC was 0-4 in it.

- Nick Tanner extended his hit streak to 13 games with a 2-for-5 day at the plate. He had a double and scored both times he was on base.

- Jack Pauley was 2-for-3 in the day driving in a pair or runs.

- In 2.2 innings of work, Jacob Howard sat down four Wolverines via strikeout.

Quotable

Head Coach Carl Iwasaki

"Getting the first WAC Tournament win for the program is a statement for us. This is our third time here and we said we were going to do that and continue to progress this program forward. We hit together today early, including that four run inning early. Our pitching held it in check with Troy Watson, giving us a chance earlier and then Leedholm shutting the door late. Jacob Howard was big punching the side out with a runner on third helping us get this win."

What's Next?

Northern Colorado continues the WAC Tournament tomorrow night when they take on No. 1 seed New Mexico State at 8 pm MT. The Aggies earned a bye in today's action after earning the top spot in the tournnament.