The Utah baseball team will host a series against Southern Utah this weekend, depending on the weather.
The first game of the series, which was scheduled for today, has already been postponed.
The forecast predicts clear skies for the weekend, meaning that the Utes and the Thunderbirds will play a doubleheader Saturday and finish the series with one game on Sunday.
“It’s just part of spring baseball,” said head coach Bill Kinneberg, referring to the unpredictable Utah spring weather. “It’s nothing that we haven’t dealt with before.”
Utah has also dealt with SUU quite a bit over the years, which already took a midweek contest from the Utes 10 days ago, 6-4. Utah dropped the contest in the fifth inning, after relief pitcher Stephen Streich gave up four runs in the fifth inning, giving the T-Birds a 6-4 lead.
Utah had its chances, but just could not capitalize on the opportunities.
The Utes left 14 runners on base, which included bases loaded in the sixth and ninth innings.
The pitchers have received run support in some games, such as the 16-9 win against Gonzaga on Wednesday, but they’ve also struggled and it showed in the Utes’ last contest against the Bulldogs, which they lost 3-2.
“We hit the ball hard (Wednesday) but we didn’t have much to show for it,” Kinneberg said. “I liked the way we swung the bats up there.”
Utah has also struggled with some injuries in the early season and has had to go to the bench to find some support.
“We have a little bit of the injury bug right now which is testing our depth,” Kinneberg said. “Maybe it’ll be a good thing for us down the road.”
Another aspect of the Utes’ struggles has been the relief. Utah’s relief staff gave up another heartbreaker Wednesday, blowing a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning. Five pitchers have seen action in either middle-relief or as a closer this season, and Kinneberg is still trying to figure who their main guy will be.
“It’s just something we have to work through and hopefully get the right guys in there at the right time,” Kinneberg said.
The starters have been pitching lights out in the early season.
Brian Budrow, the “Friday night guy,” has been the Utes’ ace pitcher this season with a 3.94 ERA and a 2-1 record. All four starters have had two no-decisions apiece and Andrew Wilding has yet to pick up a win at 0-3.
Budrow will get the nod against the T-Birds on Saturday and will face SUU’s ace Steve Johnson, who has a 3-2 record on the season with a team-leading ERA of 3.03.
“They’re a solid club and we’ll have to play well to get a victory,” Kinneberg said.
