The University of Utah baseball team headed to California to begin their 2020 season where they took on UC Davis in a three-game series and won one game, then played Saint Mary’s for one game and lost. The Utes are now 1-3, 0-0 Pac-12. 

Utah vs. UC Davis

In the series and season opener for Utah, things started off a little slow as no one scored until the sixth inning of the first game. After Utah scored three across the plate, the Aggies answered back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Justin Kelly was on the mound for the Utes, where he went 5.1 innings and gave up two runs and seven hits. Jayden Kiernan went 3 for 5 in the first game, leading the offense. The Aggies had a strong eighth inning where they scored four runs to take the lead at 3-6, Utah scored one more run in the ninth but couldn’t get it done as they fell 4-6. Overall Utah had 10 hits on the day, one double and four RBIs.

For the second game, Utah had an incredible day as they won 15-8 over the Aggies. Utah’s bats were quiet until the seventh inning, where they ran nine runs. The hitting effort was led by Shea Kramer who went 4 for 5 with six RBIs and a grand slam. But everyone contributed to the win as all nine players scored at least once. David Watson was on the bump where he pitched five innings, and Trey Clarkson got his first win in relief for the Utes. 

For the final game against the Aggies, UC Davis started off with an early lead scoring two in the first inning, three in the second and one in the third. Utah got their momentum later on, scoring three runs in the third and two in the sixth but it wasn’t enough as they fell 5-6. Kramer went 3 for 5 and freshman pitcher Josh Giffins went five scoreless innings. 

Utah vs. Saint Mary’s

Although the Utes started a comeback late, they weren’t able to pull out the win and fell to Saint Mary’s 7-9. Utah was able to tally nine hits on the day with strong performances by redshirt senior Zack Moeller and transfer junior Vinny Zavolta. Zavolta went 2 for 5 with 3 RBIs and hit a leadoff homer for his first day in a Utah jersey. Kyle Robeniol started on the mound and pitched three innings followed by three more pitchers. 

Next Up for the Utes

Utah baseball will head to Corpus Christi, Texas for a tournament where they will face Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday, then Missouri on Saturday and finally Kansas State on Sunday. All games will be live streamed on utahutes.com.

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