Utah Baseball Moves to 4-1 on the Year After Extra Innings Thriller
The best time of the year is upon us, as Baseball season has just kicked off for the MLB and NCAA.
The Utes started their season with a four-game Southern California road trip facing Pepperdine and California Baptist twice a piece. They emerged with a 3-1 record and outscored their opponents 25 to 10.
Coming off a slate that showcased the team's offensive prowess, the Utes have another California stretch in front of them as they are participating in the four-game Tony Gwynn Legacy Event.
In the first game of the event, Utah faced the UC San Diego Tritons who came in with the same record as the Utes at 3-1.
Utah opened the scoring in the top of the first after a third-base bunt single courtesy of Kai Roberts prompted an error and advanced Core Jackson across the plate. Tyler Quinn then popped a SAC fly out to right which drove in Roberts, putting the Utes up 2-0 heading into the bottom of the first.
Then, Bruer Webster increased the Utah lead to 3 runs after a fielder's choice situation granted Michael Davinni safe passage to home plate.
UC San Diego got on the board in the bottom of the third after a left-center double drove in a run. The Tritons added to their tally in the fifth inning after a single right up the middle brought in a runner, closing the gap to one run.
San Diego tied it up in the eighth inning after a center field pop-fly allowed the runner to touch home, and since the Utes couldn't return the favor in the ninth, it spelled for free baseball.
The game remained tied until the eleventh inning when Davinni knocked a ball into play, resulting in a fielder's choice situation that drove in Quinn, giving the Utes a one-run cushion heading into the final half-inning.
The Tritons couldn't reply, granting Utah the 4-3 victory and their fourth win on the campaign.
Next up for the Utes is a matchup against Loyola Marymount, followed by a closing double-header day against CSU Bakersfield and San Diego State.