A trend is beginning to develop with the Utah baseball team.
The Utes dropped a three-game set to BYU during the weekend. Utah has now lost nine straight games and the trend has become losing at the end of games. Against the Cougars, the Utes had a chance to win all three games, but the bullpen couldn’t pull through.
In the first game on Friday, Utah took a 3-2 lead into the top of the eighth inning.
BYU scored five runs off of Brian Budrow, who has been left in the game till the eighth inning twice this season, which resulted in a rally.
Utah added a run in the ninth inning off of a Nick Kuroczko homer and two more runners reached base with two outs. With Kevin Hussey at the plate, signifying the tying run, the Utes had their chance. Hussey grounded out to end the game, giving Budrow his second loss of the year and is now 4-2 on the season.
Utah left 13 runners on base against the Cougars. BYU had more late-inning rallies in the second game of the series.
The Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings of the game off of starting pitcher Andrew Wilding. Utah tied the game with five runs, started by a two RBI double by Tyler Yagi. Kuroczko and C.J. Cron added back-to-back home runs tying the game at 5-5.
The Cougars scored a run in the bottom of the fifth, Utah tied the game in the seventh before BYU rallied in the bottom of the inning and the eighth.
BYU scored two runs in the seventh and four runs in the eighth to take a 12-6 lead. Utah scored one more run in the ninth but couldn’t rally enough to get back in the game. Joe Pond earned his first loss of the season pitching 2.2 innings.
In the second game of a doubleheader and the final game of the series, the Utes took a 2-1 lead into the ninth inning. BYU had a two out to bring two runs across the plate, taking a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
Kuroczko started the inning with a hit, but Jordan Muir retired the rest of the lineup, earning his second save of the series.
Jordan Whatcott had a season high 10 strikeouts in the game but ended up earning the no decision. Greg Krause entered the game in the eighth inning, where he got out of the inning without any runs. He struggled in the ninth and picked up the loss for the Utes.
The Utes will host Washington State at Spring Mobile Park for a two-game set Tuesday and Wednesday. Their next conference opponent isn’t until May 1 when they head to Colorado Springs to face Air Force.