Utah baseball entered the eighth inning of their Tuesday night rivalry game against BYU tied 3-3. A series of errors in the top of the inning gave the Cougars a 7-3 lead. Utah was not able to rally back, falling to the team down south by the same score.
Utah had a rollercoaster game, clawing back from being down on runs multiple times. Freshman right-hander Colter McAnelly made the start for the Utes. The 6-foot-4 ace threw a season-high five innings, earning seven strikeouts, only giving up three hits and one earned run.
A sacrifice fly assisted by an error in the second put Utah down 1-0 early. The team responded quickly with a Landon Frei single up the middle that turned into a score off a Tyler Quinn RBI single. Quinn’s single was the first of two hits on the night. The infield transfer from Pacific University was the only Ute to earn multiple hits.
The Cougars tacked on additional runs in the fourth and sixth innings, entering the seventh with a 3-1 lead. A supportive Smith’s Ballpark crowd of over 2,500 fans gave Utah the nudge it needed to bring the game back into reach, as shortstop Core Jackson mashed his second home run of the season in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at three runs a piece.
Jackson’s blast to left field brought in catcher Hunter Antillon who had his only hit of the game, a one-out single, the previous at bat.
Unfortunately for the Utes, the bottom of the seventh was the game’s highlight, as the eighth inning told a completely different story.
The inning began with a single given up by right-handed reliever Jackson Elder. The next BYU batter moved to second after a throwing error, with the previous batter making his way to third. With runners on second and third and no outs, Utah called for a change, having Bransen Kuehl enter the game from the bullpen.
Put in an unpleasant situation, Kuehl’s first pitch came after Utah intentionally walked a batter to load the bases. A double play ball gave Utah hope, giving Kuehl two outs, but things quickly fell out of reach. Another intentional walk, followed by two singles and a throwing error saw the tides change, as BYU scored four quick runs and Utah found itself down 7-3.
The 7-3 score was final as the Utes failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, and the ninth was scoreless for both sides.
The Utes travel to Phoenix on Friday to take on the Arizona State Sun Devils in a three-game series. The series starts on Friday evening with the first pitch slated for 7:30 p.m. MDT.
