The Utah baseball team (3-9) lost three of four games for the third consecutive weekend, this time against Houston Baptist. The Huskies’ stellar pitching proved to be the deciding factor against the Utes’ struggling batting lineup.
“The end results were not what we anticipated or wanted, but we did some things well, particularly on the pitching side, where three of our four starters did a nice job getting us to the seventh inning,” Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg said. “So we really pitched well, and offensively we put a lot of runners on base, but ultimately we did not score many of them. That’s something that we are going to have to do a better job at, is continuing to swing the bats well but get those timely hits and RBIs.”
On Friday, the Utes kept the 10-inning game competitive by equalizing the Huskies’ domination pitching with Jayson Rose’s impressive seven-inning performance. Rose allowed one run on five hits, while striking out nine batters and walking one. Utes’ relief pitcher Dylan Drachler (0-2) took over for Rose on the mound in the eighth inning, eventually earning the loss.
The Utes scored early off an RBI double from Kellen Marruffo, scoring Kody Davis from first. In the third inning, after a leadoff double and then a wild pitch, the Huskies tied the score 1-1.
Several innings later, in the bottom of the tenth, Drachler hit the lead-off batter and walked the next, putting two runners on the bases with the game on the line. The following Husky hitter bunted in an attempt to move the base runners over, when an error on a throw to first base brought in the winning run for Houston Baptist.
After a heartbreaking loss on Friday night, the Utes returned to the field on Saturday determined for victory after leaving nine base runners stranded the previous evening. The teams competed in a doubleheader, with each team winning a game on the day.
The first game of the doubleheader remained scoreless up until the sixth inning, when Dallas Carroll showcased his speed hitting an infield single, then Cody Scaggari doubled to right field, putting Utah runners at second and third. AJ Young would follow up Scaggari’s double by hitting an RBI single to right field, giving the Utes a 1-0 lead.
Scaggari would finish 3-for-4 from the plate in the first game on Saturday. The Utes would put another run on the scoreboard in the top of the ninth after an RBI bunt from Hunter Simmons scored Josh Rose, pushing the lead to two.
Utah starting pitcher Dalton Carroll (2-1) threw for seven and one-third innings, allowing zero runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts on the day. Josh Tedeschi finished up the eighth inning for Carroll, before Riley Ottesen clinched his first career save in the top of the ninth, completing the Utes’ first shutout of the season, 2-0.
Nolan Stouder started on the mound for the Utes in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Stouder pitched four and one-third innings, allowing four runs on five hits with two strikeouts in the loss. Hunter Rodriguez threw one and two-third innings allowing two runs (one earned), giving up four hits in his relief performance. Tanner Thomas would pitch the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits.
In the second inning, after Young was hit by a pitch and Marruffo singled, Rose hit an RBI double, giving the Utes an early 1-0 lead. Houston Baptist took a 2-1 lead after a wild pitch, scoring two Huskies. Utah would answer back in the top of the fifth after three consecutive infield singles from Max Schuman, Davis and Carroll, Young would hit an RBI sacrifice fly, tying the ballgame at two.
However, the Huskies quickly answered with a three-run fifth inning and two insurance runs later. Down 7-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Dalton Carroll singled in a runner, cutting the lead to four. Unfortunately, Carroll’s single wasn’t enough to spark a late-inning rally for the Utes, as the following two Utah hitters would be retired, ending the game 7-3 in favor of Houston Baptist.
On Sunday afternoon, the two teams returned for the final game of the four-game series. Josh Lapiana pitched seven innings for the Utes, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits with four strikeouts.
Houston Baptist took an early 1-0 lead in the first, until the Utes came back to tie the game up in the fourth when Utes’ Wyler Smith scored, following an error on an attempted double play for HBU. The Huskies regained the lead in the fifth after scoring one run on three hits and an error, and tack on two more in the sixth on three hits and an error as well, giving Houston Baptist a 4-1 lead. The Utes were unable to come back from the three-run deficit, falling 4-1.
After losing three of four in three consecutive weekends the Utes will look to end the trend in a three-game series against Saint Mary’s this weekend.
@ArmenMShrikian