Utes Defeat Oregon to Conclude Pac-12 Tournament Run
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Utah Baseball team concluded its Pac-12 Tournament journey on Wednesday with a 4-2 win over third-seeded and No. 20-nationally ranked Oregon at Scottsdale Stadium.
The victory moved the Utes to a 33-22 record on the season and was the 400th career win for head coach Gary Henderson.
It brought Utah to a 1-1 record in the Pool Play stage of the tournament. Though there was still a path to the Semifinal Round for Utah this morning, Stanford's win over Oregon State earlier in the day mathematically eliminated the Utes. Each of the three pool winners are guaranteed to advance, plus one wild card team with the next-best record.
Ties for the next-best record are broken by tournament seeding, and other results throughout Pool Play ensured that at least one team seeded above Utah would finish 1-1 and advance to the Semifinal Round as a wild card.
Despite entering Wednesday's game unable to advance, the Utes still looked like a team ready to battle and play to win a conference championship.
Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Bryson Van Sickle (5-1) delivered a seven-inning start allowing just one earned run on four hits and a walk striking out six along the way. Henderson then called upon usual weekend starter Merit Jones in a relief situation, with Jones earning his first collegiate save after going six up, six down over the final two innings of the ballgame. Three of his six outs recorded were by strikeout.
Just like on the mound, it was a team effort at the plate too as five Utes contributed multi-hit performances and the club combined for 14 as a group. Seven-hole hitter Matt Flaharty tied his career high with three hits, including his first triple of the season, and had three RBI on the day. Hitting out of the nine-hole, Bruer Webster went 3-for-4 and tied his career-high hits as well.
Kai Roberts, Drake Digiorno and Kaden Carpenter had two hits apiece and Carpenter scored twice. Roberts stole his program-record 33rd base of the season, concluding his Utah career with 66 swipes. His season stolen bases total in 2024 matched Roberts' combined number from the prior three seasons.
With some nice defensive plays behind him, Van Sickle tossed a 1-2-3 first inning and worked around a single in the top of the second. The Ducks took advantage of a passed ball and throwing error to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
Utah put runners in scoring position in each of the first three innings but were ultimately unable to cash in. In the fourth, however, Flaharty slapped a triple to right field that rolled to the track and pinballed off of the bullpen wal. Carpenter was hustling on the play and scored all the way from first base to tie the score at one.
In the top of the fifth Oregon pulled back in front with a one-out triple, followed by a single that dropped into right-center field.
But the Ducks' lead was short-lived as the Utes brought the score to 2-2 in the home half. Core Jackson led off with a check-swing single down the first base line, taking third when Roberts hit one hard up the middle. Then back-to-back walks to Digiorno and TJ Clarkson brought Jackson home with Utah's second run of the ballgame.
The Utes broke the tie in the seventh, taking advantage of a second chance of sorts. Utah had runners at the corners and one out before a back-pick at third left the team only with Clarkson on first base.
Back-to-back walks in lengthy plate appearances for Carpenter and Hunter Antillon loaded the bases. Then Flaharty came through in the clutch again, sending a bouncer through the mound and up the middle for a two-run single that scored Carpenter and Clarkson. It not only gave Utah a 4-2 lead but put Van Sickle in line for the win.
Jones threw a strike to the leadoff hitter in the eighth before getting a ground out. Then he struck out back-to-back batters, the second on three pitches, to end the eighth inning. He fanned the leadoff man in the ninth on three straight pitches as well, then brought the game to a close with two fly balls.
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