After seeing its share ups and downs early in this season, another weekend came and went with questions still rising for the Utah baseball team.

The Utes were once again on the losing side of a series, dropping three of four games in their weekend series against Nicholls State.

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In the first game of the series on Friday, the Hornets were able to take advantage of some late Utah mistakes to secure a 5-4 comeback victory.

Utah had a commanding 4-0 lead in the fifth inning before surrendering a few unearned runs that tightened things up and led to some Hornet heroics in the ninth.

In the bottom of the ninth Nicholls State slapped a single through the ride side to grab the win.

Utah junior Bret Helton pitched six innings allowing three runs on five hits and collected nine strikeouts. Senior Brock Duke earned the loss on the mound after entering in the eighth and giving up one run on two hits.

Junior Cody Scaggari led the way at the plate for the Utes, going 2-for-5 with an RBI. Sophomore Dallas Carroll was 1-for-3 with two RBI, while sophomores Max Schuman and Josh Rose were the only other Utah players to record a hit.

“On the pitching and defensive side we are doing fine and playing pretty well, but we have to get more production on offense and figure that side of the game out,” head coach Bill Kinnerberg said.

The Saturday double header started badly for Utah but ended with a victory. The Utes dropped game one, 3-1 but were able to come back in game two and secure a 2-1 win — just their second on the season.

Freshman Jayson Rose took the loss on the mound in game one after pitching six innings and allowing three runs on four hits. He also had eight strikeouts before being replaced by freshman Spencer Johnson. Johnson went two innings and gave up one run.

Utah went 6-for-30 at the plate. Sophomore Hunter Simmons went 1-for-2 on the day with an RBI, and five other Utes were able to grab hits but not much amounted on the scoreboard.

“We’re just not closing on the offensive side,” Kinnerberg said. “We’re not converting opportunities. We’re getting runners on base and in scoring position, and we’re not getting that key hit yet and not making the most of our opportunities.”

Game two was another struggle at the plate as the Utes went 7-for-33. However, Carroll and freshman Cole Taylor were both able to grab two hits and the teams only two RBIs. Juniors Wyler Smith and Kody Davis picked up one hit each and freshman Andre Jackson also was able to get in the action and grab a hit.

Junior Dalton Carroll got the victory on the mound and moved his record to 1-2 on the season. He went seven innings and gave up one run on seven hits. He struck out six batters before being relieved by sophomore Hunter Rodriguez, who earned his first save of the season after pitching a perfect two innings.

The Utes couldn’t maintain that momentum in the final game of the series losing 4-1. Another rough day at the plate summarized the team’s day, as the Utes went 5-for-30.

Junior AJ Young had two hits and drove in the Utes only run of the day in the fourth.

Junior Nolan Stouder got the loss on the mound, dropping his record to 0-2. He pitched 4.2 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits while striking out four.

“We’ve got a few more days of practice before we play again, and we’ll take every opportunity to get our swings better and work on our fundamentals and apply them to the games,” Kinnerberg said.

The Utes will return to action this upcoming weekend as they take on Kansas in a three-game series.