The Utah baseball team (11-17, 8-4 in Pac-12) will play its second game of the season against its rival in the No. 21 BYU Cougars down in Provo at Larry Miller Field. Utah was held scoreless in their first meeting, a 6-0 victory for the Cougars, on March 15, when the Utes’ offense seemed to be nowhere in sight.
Utah will be hoping for different results when the two teams meet on the diamond Tuesday night for the second game of the three-game season series. The teams will compete in the final game of the series at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City on May 17.
Although Utah’s offense struggled in the first meeting against BYU, the squad has reason to feel confident following their 14-8 victory over the Trojans in Los Angeles, Calif., on Sunday afternoon.
However, the Cougars (25-5) are ranked No. 21 in the most recent national rankings released by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. BYU is coming off a weekend series victory over San Diego, outscoring the Toreros 32-16 in the three-game series.
The Utes, after winning three straight conference series to begin conference play, lost their first two games over the weekend to the Trojans, ending the Pac-12 series winning streak. They didn’t give up, though, defeating USC in an offensive showdown on Sunday. Utah currently remains tied with California at the top of the conference standings with an 8-4 conference record.
The Utes’ pitching and defensive emphasis has been succeeding in recent weeks, as they are currently tied for the Pac-12 lead in double plays with 30 (15th in the nation with 1.07 double plays per game). Utah pitchers have kept runners honest on the base pads, tied for second in the Pac-12 in pickoffs (six).
Jayson Rose, (4-3, 2.85 ERA) tops the league leaders in strikeouts with 59, and Dylan Drachler’s five saves are tied for fifth in the conference. Tuesday’s probable starting pitchers are Utah’s Tanner Thomas (2.35 ERA) and BYU’s Hayden Richards.
Following the Utes’ rivalry matchup in the Deseret First Duel series, the team will return to Smith’s Ballpark for the beginning of a 10-game home stand, beginning with UC Riverside this weekend. With six weeks to go in the season, the Utes are in a quality position to achieve their original team goal — to finish in the top six of the the Pac-12.
The Utes’ Tuesday game against the Cougars will begin at 6 p.m. MST and can be viewed on BYUTV.
@ArmenMShrikian