Freshman pitcher Jayson Rose has made quite an impact since joining the team this season, with several strong performances in a row. The best part about it for Utah is that he doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
Rose’s latest game against Stanford was some of his best work on the season. The Utes, who dropped games one and two by giving up plenty of runs, flipped the script in Sunday’s game, and Rose — with the help of reliever Brock Duke — was a big reason why.
Head coach Bill Kinneberg was disappointed with the first two games of the series, saying those games may have been the worst his team has played all season. But he was pleased with the way Rose helped lead his team to victory.
“As a team it turned around on Sunday,” he said. “Jayson got us going as far as commanding the mound and getting outs for us and our offense really did a nice job as well. Jayson set the table for us by giving us a good six innings and Brock finishing it off in the last three [innings].”
Rose finished with seven strikeouts as he picked up his third win on the year, while Duke secured his third save this season.
Freshman Jackson takes the mound
Moving positions is to be expected in baseball, and one big move last weekend was putting freshman Andre Jackson on the mound.
Jackson, who was drafted out of high school by the Texas Rangers in the 2014 MLB Draft as a pitcher, made his debut against the Cardinal in the Utes’ 8-1 loss Saturday night.
Usually playing outfield, Jackson got his first game experience and pitched one inning while giving up one run on two hits. He finished his first game with one strikeout.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to get him in, and Saturday was a perfect situation,” Kinneberg said. “We felt like we needed to get him out there. He did a nice job … threw strikes and got a taste of pitching again.”
Utes head down South
On Tuesday, Utah will travel down to Provo where it will have a matchup with the Cougars. The Utes faced off against BYU in March and came out victorious in a mid-week game at Smith’s Ballpark, 9-3.
Even though Utah had one of its best offensive outings on Sunday against the Cardinal, Kinneberg said the team must put that game in the past and focus on the task at hand — beating the Cougars.
“[Stanford] is over with,” he said. “We have to reboot again and prepare correctly, starting today and tomorrow, for a hard game in Provo.”
@ISmithAtTheU