Utah Valley split a doubleheader against Sacramento State at John Smith Field on April 10, dropping the first game 7-2 before winning the second game 11-1. The Wolverines improved to a record of 15-18 overall and 1-1 in conference play, while the Hornets moved to 14-22 overall and 2-3 in conference.
The games were notable for Jacob Heppner’s performance in Game 2, where he struck out nine batters—a new personal best—and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. This effort helped Utah Valley secure a decisive victory after falling short in the opener.
In Game 1, Chipper Beck led Utah Valley by going three for four at the plate. Mason Strong and Mason Hamlin also had multi-hit games. Despite these efforts, Sacramento State’s Ethan Lay kept Utah Valley’s offense under control with ten strikeouts over eight innings. Colton Kennedy pitched five innings for Utah Valley and recorded five strikeouts, moving him to fifth place all-time on the program’s career strikeout list with a total of 164.
Game 2 saw Utah Valley’s offense surge with eleven runs on thirteen hits. Early scoring included Kaden Carpenter doubling home Hunter Katschke in the first inning. A big second inning featured contributions from Derek Houston, Hamlin, Jimmy De Anda, DJ Massey, Strong, Brody Block, and Houston again as they built up a seven-run lead. Carpenter later homered with a deep shot to right field in the fifth inning.
Heppner exited after pitching five and two-thirds innings without allowing any baserunners until Jakob Paturnak doubled in the fifth for Sacramento State’s only run of Game 2. Aaron Rice finished out the game by stranding three runners in sixth and retiring all batters faced in seventh.
The series is scheduled to conclude Saturday morning at John Smith Field as both teams prepare for potential weather-related schedule changes.
