The Utes dropped a three-game series to No. 14 Oregon State this weekend at Smith’s Ballpark, but were able to come away with a gutsy victory to conclude the series.
The Beavers came out tough through the first two games against Utah after dropping two in a row to Washington State last week. OSU gained a 2-0 lead on Utah in the third and never relented, finishing the game on top 10-4. The Beavers’ Travis Eckert and Scotland Church quelled Utah’s batting, allowing just four runs on nine hits all night.
Game 2 of the series was not the high-scoring affair that was Game 1, at least not early on. Through five innings, neither team could drive home a run, until OSU’s Logan Ice finally ran home off of freshman Trevor Larnach’s left-side double.
The game remained 1-0 in OSU’s favor until the top of the eighth, when a Jack Anderson double scored two runs. The Beavers ran away with it in the ninth inning, scoring four runs to give themselves a 7-0 advantage. In their last at-bat, the Utes tried to chip away at the deficit. Dallas Carrol sent a high fast one flying for a home run early, but Utah could never quite come back, falling in the end, 7-2.
The second game of Friday’s doubleheader, and the final game of the series, was a slog. Fatigue and storm clouds loomed over both teams in the four-hour affair, but Utah came away with the 7-6 victory after a gutsy effort and some miraculous pitching. Dylan Drachler relieved Josh Lapiana after three innings and finished the game for the Utes.
“Drachler was terrific. That was the most pitches he’s thrown all year, and we needed it. It’s a hard [situation], double-header, limited pitching with our roster size… He was huge for us,” said head coach Bill Kinneberg.
Drachler was tested all night, with the strong batting for the Beavers of Donahue, Madrigal and Ice, all who post high-.300 averages. With a 5-2 Utah lead heading into the fourth inning, Nick Madrigal got it going for the Beavers, notching a high, line-drive triple off of a broken bat, driving in one run. What would have been an easy out turned into an easy on, then as a dropped pop-fly to right field gave Ice the reach on at first. OSU then took its first lead of the ball game, as Michael Gretler slugged a high, fast one over the left-field fence, making it a 6-5 advantage for Oregon State.
Utah hung on, battling back in the fifth after Andre Jackson doubled down the right-field line, sending home Hunter Simmons and Kellen Marruffo.
But Oregon State nearly climbed back on top in the final inning of play. With two on and just one out, and Madrigal — batting .353 on the year at the plate — batting, the Beavers appeared to be in the driver’s seat. But as Madrigal grounded one up the middle of the diamond, the Utes quelled the Beavers run and clinched the game with a double play.
“It was a long day, we just stuck in there, kept going, we persevered through the rough times,” said senior Cody Scaggari. “There were some highs and lows, but all we could do was stay with each other, stay with the process so that’s what we did and we came out with the win. It felt great to get that one.”
Next up, the Utes will host the visiting UCLA Bruins for a three game series starting on Friday at 12 p.m. MST.
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