After winning one out of four games last weekend in Surprise, Ariz., the Utah baseball team is looking for redemption this weekend heading into a four-game tournament against Kansas (2-1) and Kansas State (2-2). All games will be played at Surprise Stadium, the home spring training stadium for the Texas Rangers and defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals.
The three-team tournament begins on Friday at 6 p.m. MST, when Utah (1-3) takes the field against the Jayhawks. Utah will then face the Wildcats on Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m. MST and 2:30 p.m. MST, respectively. The Utes will return to the diamond on Monday to close out the weekend against Kansas at 1 p.m. MST.
An early highlight of the Utes’ young season came last Saturday when Dylan Drachler tied a Pac-12 record with nine strikeouts in a game. But it will be fellow pitcher Jayson Rose taking the mound for the Utes in the first game against Kansas’ Jon Hander to look out for. Rose led Utah last season with team-highs in ERA (3.54), starts (15) and strikeouts (68). Rose also earned an All-Pac-12 honorable mention last year.
Saturday will feature a pitching duel of two seniors, Utah’s Dalton Carroll and Kansas State’s Levi MaVorhis. Dalton Carroll (1-0) led the Utah starting pitchers with five wins last year.
Utah’s freshman pitcher Riley Ottesen, Deseret News’ 2013 Mr. Baseball, will make his second start of his freshman season on Sunday against the Wildcats’ Colton Kalmus. Ottesen helped lead American Fork High School’s baseball team to a state championship in 2012, and he will look to build off of a strong first start to the season.
The Utes’ offense struggled last weekend, scoring more than three runs only once in an 11-5 victory over Ball State. Leadoff hitter Josh Rose leads the team with a .346 batting average from the plate through the first four games of the season, but it was third baseman Dallas Carroll who was praised by head coach Bill Kinneberg for his ability to make solid contact at the plate last weekend.
“I thought [Carroll] had a pretty good weekend — he was one of the guys that was a tough out,” Kinneberg said. “He wasn’t rewarded a whole lot. He hit the ball extremely hard right at people. He’s hitting in the third-hole for a reason, because he is our best overall hitter.”
Carroll led the Utes with 16 stolen bases last year and was tied for fifth in the Pac-12 with that mark. He was also tied for first in RBIs (33) and second in hits (53). Carroll’s performance last season showed his determination to compete at the highest level after receiving a medical redshirt the prior year when he broke his collarbone during the first game of the season against Sacramento State.
Led by his bat and determination, Carroll believes that last weekend’s famine of runs was more of a fluke than anything.
“Obviously, the outcome as a whole wasn’t what we expected, or what we wanted, but I think the key is to let that be in the past and move forward one pitch at a time, one game at a time,” Carroll said. “As far as hitting, we are too talented as a group to put up numbers like we did last weekend.”
Despite last weekend’s offensive woes, the Utes seem determined to turn things around quickly with a roster loaded with experience. The team is motivated and capable to compete in a tough Pac-12 conference this season.
“Our expectation is to rebound from last weekend, put that behind us, come out just like it’s opening day and expect a win,” Carroll said.
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