Going into their second season in the Pac-12, expectations for the Utah baseball team were not very high. In 2012, the Utes finished in last place in the conference and were only able to muster 14 wins overall. However, with a year of experience and a flock of new players coming into the program, Utah was able to pick up 21 wins while showing signs of life against Pac-12 opponents in 2013.
“The number one thing for me this year was that we had a really good group of guys,” said head coach Bill Kinneberg. “They played hard and they practiced hard. They did good things on and off the field. I expected them to come to the ballpark and improve and that is exactly what they did.”
Going into the season, Utah welcomed 12 fresh new faces to the team, many of whom played significant roles throughout the season.
“There were a lot of new players this season,” Kinneberg said. “We lost 10 or 11 one-run games. As the players gain experience, they will eliminate small mistakes and could come out on top of those games.”
Despite the inexperience, the veterans on the team noticed a difference in the play of the younger players as the season progressed.
“We had a few starting freshman in our lineup who were very consistent,” said senior outfielder Tyler Relf. “They were big parts to our team and exceeded the expectations we had for them.”
While there were many things throughout the season to celebrate, certain moments stuck out to players more than others.
Facing Stanford’s ace and MLB top prospect Mark Appel, Utah dropped the series opener 6-4, but the Utes were able to put that aside and win the next two games to steal the series. At the time, Stanford was ranked 17th in the nation.
“Going into Stanford’s ballpark and stealing two out of three games was pretty special,” Relf said.
Conquering Stanford on their home turf was one of the season’s top highlights, but those highlights were countered with low points as well. While the Utes were able to win an exciting, extra-inning game against BYU at Spring Mobile Ballpark in their first meeting of the season, they dropped the next two games against their rivals down in Provo.
“That was definitely the lowlight of the season,” said freshman third-baseman Dallas Carroll. “I mean, it’s BYU. We always want to beat them.”
Despite dropping the series against the Cougars, Utah closed their season on a high note. With a road series sweep of Kansas and a big win in the last game of the season against 9th ranked Oregon, the Utes gained confidence that they belong in the Pac-12.
“We are just a really young team, but we are gaining a lot of experience,” Carroll said. “We have the mentality that we can win … in the Pac-12.”
Kinneberg and the rest of the team know that there is a lot of work to be done before 2014.
“We are anxious for our recruiting class coming in put together with the guys we have coming back,” Kinneberg said. “It starts new. The expectations will be a little higher, and we have a lot more work to do. We have a long summer of work ahead of us and it starts now.”
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