The Utah baseball team (2-6) travels to Houston, Texas, this weekend to face Houston Baptist (5-4) in a four-game series. The first game will be on Friday at 1 p.m. MST before the teams return to the ballpark on Saturday morning for an early double-header beginning at 10 a.m. MST. On Sunday, the teams will play their final game of the weekend series at 1 p.m. MST.
“It’s been a hard two weeks as far as trying to regroup, but the more we get out, the more we play, the more practice time we get outside, the better we will be,” said head coach Bill Kinneberg. “I think we are starting to emerge into some roles, at least on the offensive side.”
Despite the early-season struggles, the Utes have the power to improve. They currently lead the Pac-12 with seven home runs, while they also hold strong marks in a number of other categories. Kody Davis is the Pac-12’s leader in stolen bases with four in the team’s first eight games, while DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. currently leads the team with a .400 batting average, tied for eighth in the conference.
After losing three of four last weekend against Kansas and Kansas State, the Utes will be looking to improve their record against a deceptively talented Huskies team. Houston Baptist are coming off of a competitive 13-inning 3-2 loss to No. 2 Texas A&M. The Huskies are a talented squad and will challenge the Utes with their quality pitching.
Jayson Rose (1-1) will start Friday’s game on the mound for the Utes, and he leads all Utah starters with a 3.00 ERA on the season. Rose will be facing off against Addison Russ (2-0), who enters the game with a 2.57 ERA for Houston Baptist.
Saturday’s first game will feature the Utes’ Dalton Carroll and the Huskies’ Christian Thames. Carroll, 8.64 ERA, will be making his third start of the season for the Utes, while Thames will be starting for the first time this season after making five bullpen appearances with a 1.08 ERA through the Huskies first nine games. In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, Utah’s Nolan Stouder will start for the first time this year, pitching against Houston Baptists’ Julian Griego, (1-0) with a 4.09 ERA.
Sunday’s probable pitchers are Utah’s left-hander Josh Lapiana and the Huskies’ Matthew McCollough. Lapiana has made two starts on the season going (0-1) with a 5.56 ERA. McCollough, the Huskies’ leader in ERA (1.59) and strikeouts (18), will be making his fourth start of the season.
“We are really excited to just get back on the field and prove ourselves again,” Keirsey, Jr. said. “The past few weeks we have been trying to focus on the mental game and not letting things get to our head … It’s more mental because it’s a new thing to a lot of us and it’s a lot of traveling, which is a lot of stress.”
The Utes will continue to rely on their power hitting this weekend when they face a strong Husky pitching rotation. Considering the opposing strengths of these teams, this weekend’s games could be what it takes to bring the Utes out of their early-season slump.
“We are not happy with the results but I have faith with what these guys have done before, this is not a new ball club,” Kinneberg said.
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