Utah vs No. 6 Oregon State:
The University of Utah baseball team took the field against the defending national champions this weekend. The sixth-ranked Oregon State Beavers hosted the Utes in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday.
Game 1
A cloudy, cool evening at Goss Stadium at Coleman Field welcomed the Utes and Beavers in a weekend conference matchup.
The Beavers jumped out to a huge lead as the Utes gave up six runs in the second inning. Kyle Robeniol, Utah’s starter, left the game with an injury after giving up one of those runs in the inning. Riley Pierce replaced Robeniol, and although he struggled through the rest of the second, Pierce was able to shut the Beavers down the remainder of the game.
In the fourth inning, Shea Kramer started the weekends scoring for the Utes. With one out and runners on first and third, Kramer hit a sacrifice fly to right, scoring Zack Moeller.
Chandler Anderson, Chase Fernlund and Oliver Dunn singled to load the bases in the fifth inning. With one out, Moeller hit a sacrifice fly himself to manufacture another run for the Utes.
Brandon Eisert and Adley Rutschman led the way for the Beavers. Eisert remains undefeated as a starter this season, while Rutschman blasted his ninth home run in the year.
Moeller and Rykker Tom were the stars for Utah in Game 1, combining for three hits, one RBI and one run scored.
Oregon State took down Utah in game one 6-2.
Game 2
The Utes could not get anything going in the second game of the series, falling to Oregon State 11-0.
Although the Utes were fairly solid defensively, they gave up 11 runs, tying the second most they’ve given up in one game this season.
Briley Knight had the first highlight of the game for the Utes with a sliding catch in the second inning. Utah’s second solid play of the day came in the fourth inning. The Utes gunned down Rutschman on a relay to the plate to keep OSU off the board in the inning.
Knight led Utah on offense and defense in the game. He chalked up two hits in three appearances and had six put-outs defensively. The Utes left six runners on base throughout the game and nobody advanced past second base.
Josh Tedeschi started the game for Utah throwing in 3.1 innings and gave up seven runs on 11 hits. David Watson and Austin Moore came in for relief, combining for two strikeouts while giving up five hits and four runs to finish the game.
Oregon State out-hit the Utes, teeing off for 16 hits and 11 runs on the afternoon. Rutschman hit his second home run in the series and his 10th of the season in the matchup. Nine of the 13 Beavers who had a plate appearance had at least one hit on the day.
Bryce Fehmel threw a complete game shutout against the Utes, chalking up four strikeouts in the effort.
Game 3
Game 3 featured a pitching duel as no runs were scored by either team through the first five innings.
Brett Brocoff was outstanding on the mound for the Utes, striking out six Beavers and giving up five hits. Grant Grambrell was also fantastic for the Beavers, striking out three Utes while giving up two hits.
Utah’s bats finally started to make noise in the sixth inning. Anderson gave Utah their first lead of the weekend with a ground ball base hit through the left side, scoring Moeller.
The seventh inning was equally as successful for the Utes with Dunn singling to score another run. Dunn’s single up the middle drove Tyler Thompson home to put the Utes on top 2-0.
Oregon State tied the game in the eighth when Rutschman homered for the third time in three games.
With no runs scored in the ninth, the Utes and Beavers sent game three to extra innings tied at two.
With one out and a runner on second in the bottom of the eleventh inning, Oregon State hit a walk-off double to complete the sweep against Utah 3-2.
Utah’s Next Matchup
The Deseret First Duel will have its second showcase between Utah and BYU on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. The Utes and Cougars will go head to head at Larry Miller Field in Provo, Utah at 6 p.m. Live stats will be available at utahutes.com and the game will be televised on BYUtv.
