The Husky baseball team continued its on-the-road struggles last night when it was defeated by Utah Valley State in Orem, Utah, 8-5.

“We gave the game away,” coach Ken Knutson said. “We gave them nine freebies, seven walks or hit batters, and two errors. I think that was too much to overcome.”

The Huskies (20-19) have a 5-11 road record, in large part because of a knack for not getting enough hits to provide runs at opponents’ parks.

“We’re not offensive enough,” Knutson said. “We average under five runs, which is not very good offense with aluminum bats. So we have to pitch well and play defense.”

The Wolverines (18-24) scored first when freshman Jace Brinkerhoff hit a solo homer in the second inning. In the third, UVS scored two more to take an early 3-0 lead.

“We just didn’t have any answers; we couldn’t keep them from scoring,” Knutson said. “Most of the time, it was just the things we did to put ourselves in the hole.”

The Huskies finally got on the board in the fourth, when junior Matt Hague took advantage of the short porch in left, and hit one over the left-field wall for a two-run homer.

The Wolverines extended their lead in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly by UVS senior Eli Slesk.

“It’s just basic baseball. You have to keep the odds in your favor by making them earn stuff,” Knutson said. “They scored six out of the eight innings that they played against us.”

In the fifth, junior Jack Rife batted in the Huskies’ third run, just before the Wolverines added runs five and six to their tally.

Freshman Joey Lind batted in the Huskies’ last two runs of the night in the eighth inning, making the score 7-5. In the bottom half of the inning, the Wolverines added another run on Slesk’s double to push their lead back to three.

In the ninth, Hague came to the plate with two men on base, representing what could have been the tying run with two outs, but struck out, looking on at a 1-2 count.

Sophomore and Husky starter Jorden Merry (6-5) allowed three runs in his four innings of work, including one home run.

UVS starter junior Marcus Moore struck out 10 over his eight innings of work, allowing five runs. Wolverine freshman Craig Brimhall came in for the ninth to close the game. He allowed one hit and struck out two.

The UW batters were led by Hague, who went 2-for-5 at the plate, but couldn’t do everything for the Huskies. He was one of just four Husky batters to get a hit that night. Knutson said the problem was that his team was not very aggressive at the plate.

“You can’t imagine there being a better opportunity to hit a ball over the fence but tonight” Knutson said. “The wind’s blowing out 20 miles per hour, we’re playing at elevation and all you have to do is just put good swings on the strikes they throw.”

According to Knutson, his team struggles to be aggressive both offensively and defensively at times.

The series continues tomorrow night when sophomore Nick Haughian takes the mound as the starter. Haughian, who has a 3-5 record, allowed three earned runs in his last start against USC, which ended in a 5-2 loss last Saturday.

Reach reporter James Schleicher at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.