Utes Host No. 20 Arizona in Three-Game Matinee Series

The First Pitch: Things to Know
Utah baseball continues a seven-game home stand with a Pac-12 series against conference foe and No. 20 nationally-ranked Arizona. The three-game set runs from Thursday through Saturday, April 14-16 with first pitch in each contest set for 11 a.m. at Smith's Ballpark.
• It's the second straight series that the Utes have played against a top-20 ranked opponent, fresh off a weekend series in Salt Lake City vs. then-No. 15 UCLA. The Utes took the Bruins to the wire in all three contests, earning a 7-6 victory in the series finale. It was the 18th win of the season for the ballclub, surpassing the final win total for the 2021 season.
• Arizona took all three games in the 2021 series between these teams down in Tucson. Utah's last win over the Wildcats came in the 2019 series opener, a 21-10 victory for the Utes. Utah's last home victory over Arizona came in April 2018, when the ballclub took two of three games.
• During Utah's time as a member of the Pac-12 (since the 2012 baseball season), the Utes are 13-14 in their meetings with Arizona. It includes a three-game road sweep for Utah in 2017 over the seventh-ranked Wildcats.
• Utah concludes its seven-game home stand next Tuesday, April 19 in a matchup with in-state rival BYU. That game is set for a 6 p.m. MT first pitch.
 
Recap in a Minute
Utah is coming off of a three-game series with UCLA here in Salt Lake City last weekend. The Utes capped off the series with a 7-6 win on Sunday thanks to a three-run seventh inning. It was Utah's first win over UCLA since 2016 and first triumph over a top-15 ranked opponent since 2019.
• The Utes now have six wins over UCLA in recorded program history, with five of those since the 2005 season. Between 2005 and Sunday's Utah win, no victories were against a ranked UCLA team, and it's unknown if the Bruins were ranked in March 1970 at the time of the other Utah triumph.
• Chase Anderson and TJ Clarkson each homered for the Utes in the UCLA series finale, with Anderson's first inning homer coming as a two-run shot among his two hits and three RBI in the ballgame. Landon Frei was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI for another multi-hit performance. Frei along with leadoff hitter Kai Roberts each scored twice. On the mound, Dusty Schramm earned the win on Sunday and Zac McCleve picked up the two-inning save.
• Utah has now hit 29 home runs as a team this season, the most for the club since the 2011 campaign (39). It therefore stands as the most the team has hit since joining the Pac-12 Conference.
• While Utah was handed a pair of one-run defeats to begin the series, the squad battled with the Bruins right to the end both on Friday and Saturday. In the opener, Utah had the winning run on third base with one out in the ninth inning before falling in extras. Trailing 4-3 in the ninth on Saturday, the Utes had the tying run at third base and winning run at second with one out, but were unable to level the score.