UVU (17-35, 3-13) recorded a season-high 18 hits to back a career outing from Ray Hernandez, who tossed six innings, allowed three runs, and struck out three. UT Arlington (18-29, 7-9) was led by Xander McPhee, who drove in two runs for the Mavericks. 

Hernandez worked a five-pitch, 1-2-3 third inning after stranding UTA runners in scoring position in both the first and second innings. That set the stage for the Wolverines’ offense to break through against Maverick starter Caylon Dygert.

Jimmy De Anda and Hunter Katschke opened the inning with singles to put runners on the corners with nobody out before Brody Block lifted a sacrifice fly to give UVU a 1-0 lead. 

Utah Valley finished with a season-high seven doubles in the game, including three from Carpenter. It marked the first time a Wolverine recorded three doubles in a game since Garrett Broussard accomplished the feat against Utah Tech in 2024.

Carpenter’s second double of the night helped spark another scoring inning for UVU, as Chipper Beck followed with one of his two doubles to extend the lead to 2-0 in the third. The BYU transfer tied a career high with two doubles. Mason Strong later added an RBI, and Mason Hamlin beat out a high chopper to first base to score another run and push the Wolverines in front 4-0. 

Hernandez stayed in control on the mound, retiring seven straight hitters before Austin Phillips doubled and later scored for the Mavericks in the fifth inning. Utah Valley answered immediately in the bottom half of the frame when Beck singled through the right side before Strong drove in Block on a ground ball deep in the hole to make it 5-1. 

The Wolverines responded to a two-run sixth inning by UTA with a run of their own after Katschke sent a ball into left-center field and advanced to second, allowing De Anda to race home from first and make it 6-3. UTA trimmed the deficit to one in the seventh when McPhee lined a ball down the left-field line to score Hank Harp and Xavier Melendez. With the tying run in scoring position, Garrett Miller  recorded a strikeout and later ended the inning with another punchout to preserve the 6-5 lead. 

Carpenter and the Wolverines continued to swing the bats against the UTA bullpen in the bottom of the seventh. The senior from American Fork opened the inning with a solo homer that cleared the yellow line in center field to give UVU a 7-5 advantage. After Beck drew a walk, Strong launched his first home run since the Cal State San Bernardino series to extend the lead to 9-5. Cooper Brass also contributed defensively with seven assists at shortstop, the most by a Wolverine in a game this season. He later added an RBI single in the seventh to score Hamlin and make it 10-5.

Utah Valley added three more runs in the eighth, beginning with back-to-back doubles from Block and Carpenter before an infield ball from Strong resulted in an errant throw that allowed Beck and Carpenter to score. Miller finished the game and earned his first save of the year with three innings pitched allowing four hits, and had four strikeouts. 

Wolverines pick up pace at WAC Track Championships

ARLINGTON, Texas — Emily Conlin and Morgan Nokes earned golds, Kate Carter, Eddie Garcia and Porter Whitworth took silvers, and Reagan Doman claimed a bronze to lead Utah Valley on day one of the WAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Maverick Stadium.

Utah Valley also saw 12 athletes qualify for Saturday’s finals in their respective events, led by seven of the eight Wolverines competing across the men’s and women’s 1500-meter advancing. Through two events on the men’s side and four on the women’s, Utah Valley is in the lead with 21 and 49 points respectively after claiming a medal in all but one event thus far.

Conlin kicked off the day winning the first final of the championships, posting a new personal best of 4.00 meters that ranks second all-time. Conlin had a shot at breaking the school record after officially clinching the title, but came up just short.

Nokes earned her fifth individual WAC championship of the 2025-26 season, after claiming the cross country and indoor mile, 3k, and 5k titles earlier this season. Nokes ran a 34:06.21 in blustery conditions, falling just eight seconds short of former UVU All-American Everlyn Kemboi’s meet record of 33:58.39 set in 2022. Doman took third with a time of 35:05.62, earning her third medal of the season after taking silver in the mile and bronze in the 3k at the indoor championships. 

Whitworth almost did the unthinkable, nearly erasing what was a 10-second gap with three laps to go, but ran out of time before ultimately finishing second by one second. Whitworth’s fastest laps were his last two, running 1:09.94 and 57.93 over the final 800. Whitworth’s final lap was also the only under a minute across the entire race.

Eddie Garcia surged to a new personal best in the hammer, improving by nearly two meters to 59.62 to take second. Garcia concludes his collegiate career in the event ranking third all-time.

Carter continued her steady improvement over the course of her freshman campaign to reach 44.71 meters in the javelin. Carter took silver and now ranks fifth all-time in the event, improving by about seven meters from her debut at Utah Tech in March to now.

Gavin Stafford continued his torrid stretch of late, running 20.50 in the 200-meter qualifying race, the top overall time of the day and the second-best time in program history. Stafford’s time is also 31st nationally in all conditions this season.

Matthew Maclennan showed out in the 400-meter hurdle qualifiers, posting a new personal best of 53.31 to take fourth overall and qualify for Saturday’s final. The time also ranks ninth in program history.

Cole Johnson and Joey Trageser sit in second and third at the midway point of the decathlon, which will wrap up Friday.  Neal Berkey  false started in the 100-meter dash, but has otherwise kept pace with his fellow Wolverines, leading the trio in three of the other four events. Johnson posted the top mark in the shot put, with a season-best 13.89m.