Utah Valley gives up 8 home runs in NCAA Regionals loss to Arizona

Utah Valley’s pitchers were no match for Arizona’s batters Saturday night, as the Wildcats handed the Wolverines a 14-4 loss in NCAA baseball regionals action at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon.

As a result, UVU finds itself in a must-win scenario to stay alive in the double-elimination tournament.

One day after the Wolverines beat No. 12 overall seed Oregon for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win, UVU gave up 19 hits, including eight home runs and 14 extra-base hits, to Arizona in a winner’s bracket matchup.

The Wildcats chased UVU starter Colton Kennedy after 3 1/3 innings, as they hit three solo home runs in the fourth inning to take a 7-2 lead. Kennedy gave up six of those runs, all earned.

Arizona then slammed the door shut with a six-run seventh inning that pushed its advantage to 13-4. UVU relief pitcher Garrett Miller gave up four earned runs in the inning against just one out, as he faced only five batters.

Mason White hit three of Arizona’s single-game program-record eight home runs. White’s first homer came just three batters into the matchup, and it gave Arizona a quick 2-0 lead.

White ended up going 4 of 5 with four RBI while adding home runs in the third and fourth innings.

UVU had three of its four hits in the first inning. The Wolverines turned that into two runs, thanks to RBI singles from Mason Strong and Dominic Longo II.

The Wolverines also scored a pair of runs in the fourth after loading the bases, briefly making the game interesting again after cutting Arizona’s lead to 7-4.

After going scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings, the Wildcats then put the game on ice with their six-run seventh.

What’s next for Utah Valley?

The loss pushes Utah Valley into the one-loss bracket. The Wolverines will play Cal Poly on Sunday at 4 p.m. MDT, with the winner moving on to play Arizona Sunday night and the loser being eliminated.

Cal Poly eliminated regional host Oregon Saturday in one-loss bracket play, beating the Ducks 10-8. Oregon was the first top 16 seed to be eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.

Utah Valley would need two wins Sunday — one against Cal Poly, then one against Arizona — to stay alive and force a winner-take-all matchup with Arizona Monday, with a spot in the Super Regionals on the line.