There was a slight sense of relief at practice on Tuesday for the Utah baseball team — not enough to feel comfortable, but just enough to notice.
The Utes just came off their most successful weekend all season, a season which has been full of struggles thus far on the offensive side. They took two of three games away from Kansas and also won their first series of the season against the Jayhawks.
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The players had bigger smiles than usual as they prepared for practice. After a grueling first couple of weeks of the season, beating a Big 12 team lifted their individual spirits and overall team confidence.
Junior Cody Scaggari was a big reason the Utes got rolling in the right direction this weekend. In three games against the Jayhawks, he went 7-for-13 at the plate. He also recorded seven RBIs and smashed two home runs, which brought him to three on the year.
“I just stuck with the approach that the coaches taught us going in,” Scaggari said. “Pretty confident, I guess. Confidence was a big part of it. Basically, going in and trying to make a difference and trying to lead the team to some victories. Someone needed to step up, and I felt like it was a good opportunity to.”
It wasn’t just Scaggari who was swinging the bat well, as multiple Utah hitters recorded key hits and RBIs, something head coach Bill Kinneberg said the team has been lacking for the better part of their young season.
“I think what it comes down to and what’s happened to us prior to that, we weren’t getting that key hit or that key RBI or making that key defensive play,” Kinneberg said. “Kansas had opportunities and we got outs and limited their opportunities and we created more opportunities and then took advantage of them and got some scoring.”
Scaggari said the team’s confidence and morale are very high, not only because the offense is starting to show signs of how good they can be, but because the team’s pitching staff has been hard at work trying to give the offense some cushion as they push through their tough stretch.
Juniors Dalton Carroll and Bret Helton, as well as freshman Jayson Rose, have all impressed this year and had their key moments on the mound. Rose is 1-2 on the year and controlled Kansas in his time on the bump over the weekend.
Helton is 1-1 and is looking to continue his success as the opening-night starter. Carroll, who is coming off a complete-game victory in his last outing, said that while it can be hard to go the distance, he is happy to do it for the team.
“I had been through their lineup one or two times,” he said. “If you look at the stats, I only had three strikeouts. The biggest thing was just letting them hit [the ball] and letting my defense do the work.”
Continuing the sudden success they saw in Kansas last week through their first weekend of Pac-12 play is something the players believe they can and will do for the remainder of the season.
“I think this was a good [last] weekend for us,” Carroll said. “Not only because we did take the series, but Kansas is a pretty good hitting team.”
Carroll said all the teams in the Pac-12 can swing and hit very well and that the Utes will have to be ready for teams like the Jayhawks for the rest of the season.
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