Momentum is something that can drive a team to great things, such as big plays and, ultimately, wins.
Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg, however, isn’t worried about momentum. Kinneberg wants to get his guys more playing time and focus on getting better every time they get an opportunity to play.
This weekend, Utah will have the chance to do that with a tough road test in a three-game weekend against Loyola Marymount.
“They’re a very solid team,” Kinneberg said. “They’re well-coached … They’re going to be a team that is very aggressive on the bases. On the offensive side, our pitchers are going to have to do a good job of holding runners and make sure we don’t give them free bases.”
Junior Mitch Watrous will get the start on Friday, while senior Tanner Banks and sophomore Dalton Carroll will start Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
The Utes want to keep their competitive drive going as they prepare to go to battle with the Lions.
“Just to continue what we’re doing,” said sophomore infielder Kody Davis of what they need to do this weekend. “We feel really good as a club right now. We understand how good we are and how good we can be and just compete every day.”
Now that Utah has been able to practice outside and pulled together some upsets, the team’s morale is growing. Senior Tyler Yagi isn’t worried about anything but consistently doing what they did last weekend.
“Honestly, just continuing to grow,” he said. “Continue to take strides in the right direction … Just continue to play our game. Because when we play our game, we can hang with the best, and we can beat the best, but if we get outside of our game that is when we get in trouble.”
One thing the Utes cannot do is leave runners on bases. Utah left 12 of its runners on base against Nebraska, and even though a win was captured, they missed a chance to distance themselves from the Huskers.
“Yeah, it’s disappointing,” Davis said. “Our mindset as a team is if one guy doesn’t get the job done, the next guy behind him is going to step up. That’s what we are really trying to focus on, is just trusting each other.”
The team’s attitude will play a key role in whether or not they can come away with wins, as the Utes will be working on producing runs this weekend.
“I think the mechanics are there,” Yagi said. “I think the next step we need to take offensively is a mentality check. Instead of hoping to get hits or hoping to come through in the clutch with timing hits, it’s more of a mentality change and knowing we are going to get it done … More of a confidence thing.”
Kinneberg isn’t looking for anyone specific to shine but is more focused on the team improving as a whole. He knows the talent is there and is just waiting for each player to prove himself.
“I just want us to get better every inning and every pitch,” Kinneberg said. “We’re not looking down the road, we are just looking for the next pitch.”
The first game between Utah and Loyal Marymount will be Friday night at 7 p.m.
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