Utah vs Utah Valley
The University of Utah baseball team took on the Utah Valley Wolverines in an in-state matchup Tuesday night.
Chase Fernlund got the Utes started with a double down the right field line, scoring Rykker Tom from third. Matt Richardson followed the scoring up two batters later with a single to right field, driving home Fernlund.
Zack Moeller doubled, then Erick Migueles hit a two-run blast to put the Utes up 4-0 in the third.
Utah scored three more runs in the fifth inning off the bats of Shea Kramer, Chandler Anderson and Richardson. After giving up four runs in the sixth inning, the Utes added three insurance runs, thanks to Anderson and Briley Knight.
The final run for Utah came in the seventh when Migueles doubled to score Oliver Dunn. Utah Valley added one more in the eighth to cap the night for the Wolverines.
As the night came to a close at Smith’s Ballpark, the Utes were victorious by a score of 11-5. David Watson got his first win as a Ute, and Migueles continued his hot bat going into the weekend series versus Arizona State.
Utah vs Arizona State
The Utes will host the No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils this weekend. This series will come one week after the Utes took down USC for their first conference series victory. Last season, the Utes were swept in three games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium in Tempe. Utah is 6-17 against Arizona State since joining the Pac-12 Conference in 2012. Currently, the Utes are 11-19 (3-12) and Arizona State is 28-7 (10-5).
Arizona State’s College World Series History:
The Sun Devils have made the trip to Omaha 22 times in school history. Arizona State has won the College World Series five times with their last National Championship coming in 1981. Their last trip to Omaha came in the final year of Rosenblatt Stadium, 2010, where the Sun Devils were eliminated after losses in back to back games against Clemson and South Carolina.
Arizona State’s Player’s to Watch:
Spencer Torkelson has been one of the more consistent hitters in the Sun Devil lineup with a .377 batting average. This season, he has started in all 33 games for Arizona State, scoring 44 runs while driving in 55 hits. He currently ranks second on the team in home runs (11), RBI (42) and total bases (99). Torkelson leads the team in total hits (55). Last year, Torkelson was named an All-American by Collegiate Baseball News, NCWBA and Perfect Game. He was the National Freshman of the Year, National Freshman Hitter of the Year, Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist and a Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist. Torkelson has also been a Pac-12 Player of the Week once this season.
Hunter Bishop has been the go-to batter for Arizona State this year. Bishop currently leads the team in batting average (.394), home runs (17), RBI (45) and runs scored (50). This season, Bishop has had at least one hit in all but four games. He has also been fantastic defensively for the Sun Devils, chalking up 94 put outs while also having a .989 fielding percentage. With the MLB draft not too far away, Bishop finds himself on the radar for a number of teams. Bishop has been a Pac-12 Player of the week three times this season.
Alec Marsh is coming off a complete game effort against No. 3 Oregon State last weekend. In the outing, Marsh gave up three hits and one walk while chalking up nine strikeouts. Marsh has been dominant on the mound this season with a 2.02 ERA and an 8-1 record. Marsh relies on a fastball with sinking action and will consistently be in the low-to-mid 90s. He couples his fastball with a curveball and changeup that are normally in the 70 mph range.
Arizona State’s Head Coach:
Tracy Smith, the former National College Baseball Coach of the Year (2013) will lead the Sun Devils against the Utes this weekend. Smith was the head man for the Indiana Hoosiers in 2013, leading the Hoosiers to the College World Series. After signing on as ASU’s head coach in 2014, Smith led the Sun Devils to NCAA regionals in 2015 and 2016. After missing the CWS tournament in 2017 and 2018, Smith has helped ASU get off to a redemption-like season, beginning the year 21-0.
Arizona State Fun Fact:
The All-Time MLB Home Run leader, Barry Bonds played at Arizona State from 1982-1986.
Utah 2019 Season Update:
Utah is coming off its first conference series win against the USC Trojans. The Utes are currently 11-19 (3-12) and are in 10th place in the Pac-12 Conference.
Utah Players to Watch:
Migueles is coming off of a three-double, three RBI performance against the USC Trojans. Migueles was great at the plate, going 5-10 in the weekend series versus USC. He also had an assist off the wall in game one which helped keep a run off the board. Migueles currently leads the team in home runs (4) and RBI (28). He also ranks second on the team in hits (37), doubles (10), total bases (59) and slugging percentage (.522).
Knight has been tremendous defensively for the Utes. He showcased his glove over the weekend with three diving catches against the Trojans. Knight is currently batting .224 on the year with an RBI of six and ten runs scored. The freshman from Corvallis, Oregon has played in 22 games this season and has come on as a solid outfielder for the Utes.
Brett Brocoff had another dominant performance against the Trojans over the weekend. Brocoff went six innings, giving up eight hits and four runs in the outing. Brocoff has a 4.93 ERA in 42 innings pitched this year.
Utah Fun Fact:
Former Utah head baseball coach Tim Esmay (1997-2004) also coached for Arizona State from 2010-2014.
This Weekend’s Schedule:
Utah will face the ninth-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. at Smith’s Ballpark. The battle between ASU and Utah can be streamed on Utah’s live stream, which can be found on utahutes.com.
