Confidence has been an attribute the U baseball team has gained throughout each series. After starting the conference season by being swept by the New Mexico Lobos, the team now feels it can beat anyone, after taking two out of three from San Diego State.
“The two best teams in the conference were playing in our series this weekend, and we came out on top,” said U baseball coach Tim Esmay. “The ball is in our court, we can beat anyone in the conference, but we have to play our game.”
Utah has now proven it can step up with any team in the conference. The series this weekend showed a lot, as the Utes headed into a tough environment and came out on top of the conference leaders.
“I think when I was watching our team this weekend, I felt the proudest about them that I ever have,” Esmay said.
After Utah came back from a seven-run deficit in Game 1, the two teams had one of the best pitching showdowns the Mountain West Conference had seen all season.
“That was one of the best pitching performances I have seen in a long time,” Esmay said.
Cheyenne Rushton and Rory Shortell went at each other the entire game, and Rushton was able to come out on top in the end.
Because of the win, Rushton was awarded the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week award. This is the second time this season that Rushton has received the honor.
However, Rushton could not go the whole way through the game, as Mitch Maio assumed his former role and closed out the game, but the save situation cost Maio some stamina for Game 3.
“We had him on a pitch count, and there was no way he was going past the fifth inning,” Esmay said.
For that, the Utes lost Game 3, but still left San Diego brimming with confidence.
“We now have six games left at home and we have to win them,” Esmay said. “Our bullpen has been playing well along with the starting pitching and the hitting, so we have no more excuses.”
Utah will now have a chance at redemption against New Mexico, who swept them earlier in the season.
After the Lobos, the Utes will finally have the showdown with BYU that may decide who will take the second seed to the Mountain West Conference Championships.
“I think that not one team wants to end up with us in the conference championships,” Esmay said. “When we are playing our best, it is tough for any team to beat us.”