Six-Run Fifth Keys Utah Baseball’s 7-3 Win vs. UCLA
SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah baseball team secured the middle game vs. UCLA on Saturday, using a six-run fifth inning to vault ahead of the Bruins and ultimately lock up the series with a 7-3 win at Smith's Ballpark.
Utah (28-13, 13-7 Pac-12) reached 28 wins on the season, the most for the program in the Pac-12 era and most since 2011, when the team had 29 victories during its final year in the Mountain West Conference. At 13-7 in conference play, the Utes moved within a game of Arizona for the lead in the Pac-12 standings. Saturday's result also gave the Utes their sixth Pac-12 series win, short of only the 2016 team (8) for the most as a member of the league.
Slotted in the two-hole in the lineup, left fielder Karson Bodily tied his career-high hits with a 4-for-4 game, also driving in a run and scoring once. Center fielder Kai Roberts shined at the plate, going 2-for-5; both of his hits drove in runs for a total of three on the day. Roberts scored once in the game as well.
Merit Jones (3-2) made his 10th start of the season, putting in extended work with six complete innings and striking out six Bruins. The sophomore allowed three runs to cross on seven hits. From there, Jackson Elder dealt two innings of shutout ball before Micah Ashman worked a 1-2-3 ninth in a non-save situation.
Neither team scored until the fourth inning as a leadoff triple followed by a sacrifice fly gave UCLA the first run of the game.
After Jones stranded runners on the corners in the visiting half of the fifth inning, the Utes exploded for six runs in the home half. With one out in the inning, Matt Flaharty singled and advanced to second after Bruer Webster got hit by a pitch, setting the table for Roberts. On the first pitch, Roberts doubled to left center, driving in both runners and giving Utah a 2-1 lead.
Bodily was next up and followed with an RBI single to left field, scoring Roberts from second and stretching the Utes' advantage to 3-1. With two outs in the inning, TJ Clarkson reached on a dropped fly ball in the outfield, plating Bodily. The Utah bats stayed red hot as Kaden Carpenter drove in another run with an RBI double and Hunter Antillon tallied the team's sixth run with a single.
The Utes maintained a strong lead throughout the game, but the Bruins responded with a pair of runs in the visiting frame of the sixth to cut the Utah advantage to 6-3. Scoring the final run of the game, Roberts drove in another Ute in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a single that plated Webster. It came on the heels of a one-out double for the Utes' second baseman.
With the Utes' 13th conference win of the season, it is now the most since the 2017 season.
Next Up
The Utes have a chance to sweep the UCLA Bruins for the first time in program history tomorrow afternoon at Smith's Ballpark. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m. MT for "Heroes Day" as first responders, healthcare workers, and their families can claim a free ticket at the Smith's Ballpark Ticket Office. It'll also be Soda Sunday, with all souvenir sodas at half-price from the concession stand.
Fans unable to make it to the ballgame can tune into Brian Preece on the Utah Live Stream feed and listen to Bill Riley on ESPN 700 AM / 92.1 FM.
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Single-game tickets are now on sale for the entirety of Utah's 2024 home schedule at Smith's Ballpark. Season tickets are still available for purchase, but season ticket hats have sold out.
Fans can contact the Utah Athletics Ticket Office via phone with questions at (801) 581-8849.
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