Friday and Saturday’s baseball games between Utah and UVSC couldn’t have been more different.
On Friday, the two teams couldn’t buy a run as both the Utes and Wolverines struggled at the plate. Utah committed error after error in the field and the Wolverines left Franklin Covey Field with a 4-2 victory.
On Saturday, hits and runs came in bunches for both teams, UVSC was the team committing all the errors and Utah was the team that came away with the win in a 17-16 thriller at Brent Brown Park in Orem.
What it all adds up to for the Utes is a 12-14 record heading back into conference play this week.
Utah could easily be sitting at .500 though, considering the manner in which it lost on Friday.
Holding onto a 1-0 lead with one of its best pitchers on the mound in Brian Budrow, Utah looked to be in good shape. In the top of the fifth inning, though, the Utes suddenly became error-prone. They would commit four miscues in the frame, and UVSC took advantage by plating four unearned runs.
Utah responded in the bottom half of the inning with a sacrifice fly from Austin Jones to cut the lead to 4-2. The Utes had a chance to narrow the deficit again in the sixth inning when they had the bases loaded with one out, but couldn’t find a way to capitalize.
UVSC pitcher Brady Aaron had the Utes on lockdown for the majority of the contest, giving up just six hits and striking out eight batters. Utah catcher Jesse Shriner was the only Ute with a multi-hit game, finishing 2-of-5 at the plate.
On Saturday, the Utes had absolutely no trouble finding offense, but just couldn’t figure out a way to stymie Wolverine hitters.
The first two innings of the game saw Utah jump out to a 7-0 lead — highlighted by a two-RBI Cooper Blanc home run. The Wolverines would bounce back with six runs in the bottom of the third, but Utah again flexed its muscle by scoring three runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to take a 13-7 lead. Utah would expand that lead to 17-9 before the Wolverines decided to do something about it, scoring seven runs in the final two innings. They would come up just short, though, leaving a runner on in the bottom of the ninth.
All said and done, the Utes would score 17 runs on 18 hits while giving up 16 runs on 18 hits.
“Adjectives like good and bad, and everything in between, typified this ballgame,” Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg said. “But, it was the fourth game of the series and a win on the road, so I’ll take it.”
Corey Shimada and Cooper Blanc led the Ute offense on the day. Shimada finished 4-for-5 at the plate with one RBI on Saturday. Blanc was 3-for-5 with two homeruns and five RBIs.
The Utes resume play on Tuesday when they travel to Provo to take on Brigham Young University. They continue conference play this weekend at San Diego State.
Aaron SchwendimanUtah infielder Michael Beltran chases the Utah Valley runner Friday night. On Saturday, the Utes won a high scoring game 17-16 in Orem.