When Utah traveled to Eugene this weekend to take on No. 12 Oregon, it hoped that it could get off to a hot start in hopes of an upset. While the team kept the Ducks honest, the Utes ended the weekend much the same way as last weekend when they hosted Oregon State.
Utah suffered through another tough weekend against an even tougher Pac-12 opponent, this time to Oregon, being swept all three games.
“It’s just comes down to the simplest things,” said sophomore outfielder Wyler Smith. “We had many innings where there was a man in scoring positions.”
While the end result was the same, the first game proved to be a thriller. Even though the Ducks walked away with the victory, 1-0, the Utes made some great plays and had many chances to pull ahead. Junior pitcher Mitch Watrous had a terrific day, pitching eight innings and recording nine strikeouts. Despite the impressive outing, Watrous’ big error came in the bottom of the eighth inning when a wild pitch brought home the game-winning run for Oregon.
With the defense performing admirably, the offense was a different story, only mustering three hits the entire game. Smith led the team going 2-for-3 at the plate, but only one other Ute got on base the entire game.
Game two saw much of the same story as the team was only able to gather five hits as a team. It is clear that Utah has some work to do in terms of scoring runs.
On the defensive side of the ball, pitcher Zach Adams made his first start of the season, pitching six innings and allowing only two runs. Adams also recorded four strikeouts while giving up five hits. Freshman Dylan Drachler relieved Adams after six innings and recorded two strikeouts of his own.
The final game of the weekend saw some hope for the Utes when they jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead. Senior Cory Hunt was able to cross home plate off of a sacrifice fly ball from Smith. However, a late rally from the Ducks, including a home run in the seventh inning, was all that they would need to beat the Utes, as Utah could not register another run the rest of the game.
“It’s not much frustration,” Smith said. “It’s disappointment. I honestly thought it was lucky on them. Our pitching was tearing them up. Out of nowhere they get a lucky hit. It’s the game of baseball you never know what is going to happen.”
The Utes return home this week as they host in-state rival BYU on Tuesday night. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
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