Given that this is the time of the season when a coach is experimenting with what types of lineups to bring in, the U baseball team competed well against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
The Utes won the season opener against the Mustangs 6-4 as Jason Wylie lived up to expectations by winning his first start of the season.
In game two, the Mustangs answered with a hitting barrage, as Cal Poly defeated the Utes, 8-3. Doug Mackay was hit early and often as he only lasted 3 innings in his first outing of the season.
In the final game of the series, the Utes and the Mustangs both hit very well, but the Mustangs found a way to get the win as they won 13 8.
The first game of the series featured the Utes’ hitting at its best in the first 2 innings. Nate Weese started the scoring spree after hitting a 2-run double in the first inning, then later scored on a sacrifice fly.
The scoring didn’t stop, as the Utes scored two more times in the second inning with Weese notching another RBI.
Wylie pitched very well in 5 innings, with 5 strikeouts and only 1 earned run.
Mitch Maio closed out the game as he has done throughout the course of his career at the U.
Cal Poly came back firing in the second game, with 14 hits and 6 of those hits going for extra bases.
The third inning was the breakout inning for the Mustangs, as Brian Haskell hit a home run and Bryan Grant had a run-scoring triple.
Mackay just couldn’t shake off the Mustangs’ hitters and was taken out of the game after 3 innings of work.
Utah did have good play out of freshman shortstop Brett Baldwin, who had three singles; second baseman Adam Castleton had a double and a single; and designated hitter Jed Chrisman had a home run.
Cal Poly’s Tyler Fitch played average in his 5-2/3 innings of work, as he allowed 3 earned runs. The big-time pitching for the Mustangs came from reliever Frank McLaughlin, who threw for the rest of the game and notched the save.
The third game featured plenty of hitting, especially in the second inning, when Sean Overholt was shelled as the Mustangs scored 10 runs.
After the second inning, the Utes made an attempt to score as much as possible, but the 10-run inning proved too much to overcome, as the Mustangs won the match 13-8.
Last season, the Utes were swept by the Mustangs in the opening series, but with all the variables Ute coach Tim Esmay was attempting to experiment with, the Utes competed well and are looking good to compete for the Mountain West Conference Championship.