The Utah baseball team (11-18, 8-4 in Pac-12) will return home on Friday to begin its three-game non-conference series with UC Riverside. The Utes have been a disappointing 3-14 against non-conference opponents, especially struggling with in-state opponents (BYU and UVU). The Utes will be starting a 10-game homestand, hosting UC Riverside, Oregon State and UCLA over the next three weeks.
Despite the Utes’ non-conference struggles, however, they remain tied at the top of the Pac-12 standings (8-4) with Cal.
“We need to bounce back and again play to our capabilities in all three phases, hitting, pitching and fielding,” said Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg. “UCR is a good ball club, and although it’s not a Pac-12 weekend, we still need to prepare well and play well.”
UC Riverside, (13-17, 3-3 in Big West) has five games of experience this season against Pac-12 teams going 1-1 against Arizona and 1-2 against Washington, and recently fell in a conference series against UC Irvine (1-2).
There is no denying that the Utes’ struggles in non-conference play have become more apparent in recent weeks due to their unexpected Pac-12 success. The Utes’ most recent loss, 14-3 to the BYU Cougars, marked the team’s seventh-straight non-conference loss.
Utah’s No. 1 starting pitcher Jayson Rose (4-3, 2.85 ERA) currently leads the conference with 59 strikeouts, and Dylan Drachler is tied for fifth with five saves, but only one of those has been against a non-conference foe.
The Utes will turn to Rose to turn things around, as he will be taking the mound in Utah’s first game of this weekend’s series against the Highlander’s Austin Sodders. Dalton Carroll will get the start on Saturday facing UC Riverside’s Ricky Delgado. There is no known probable pitcher for Sunday’s game for the Highlanders, however, Josh Lapiana will be pitching for the Utes.
Friday and Saturday’s games will begin at 7 p.m. MST, and Sunday’s game will start at 2 p.m. MST.
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