Despite the brutal sweep, multiple Utes displayed impressive performances throughout the weekend.
Friday
On Friday, the Utes hit the ground running, with Drake Digiorno opening up scoring with a homer in the top of the second. However, West Virginia was quick to bounce back, hammering two homers of their own in the third. Utah pitcher Colter McAnelly responded with a double strikeout in the fourth, before the Mountaineers decided to go three for three and nailed another homer in the fifth.
Within two, Digiorno stepped up again in the seventh, reaching first on a single ahead of a Jake Long double. Old reliable Austen Roellig stepped up with a single of his own, earning a double RBI with the runs from Digiorno and Long.
All tied up going into the eighth, it was either team’s game as West Virginia stepped up to the plate — with one player on base already, the Mountaineers delivered their fourth homer of the evening to step ahead of Utah. A subsequent throwing error from the Utes put the nail in the coffin, and West Virginia took the game 6-3.
Saturday Double Header
After facing a narrow defeat the day before, Utah returned to the field the next day for redemption. Core Jackson got the ball rolling with a double to right field and stole third prior to a Tyler Quinn single to get him home. The Mountaineers matched the score in the bottom of the inning, after being hit by a pitch to help get them on base.
West Virginia soldiered on in the second, getting help once again from being hit by a pitch. With two players on base, the Mountaineers opted to continue the previous day’s trend and hit their fifth homer of the weekend, jumping ahead 4-1.
A run by Quinn inched the Utes closer in the fourth, though West Virginia responded with their own as the inning turned over. Utah got a spring back in their step in the fifth, when Santino Panaro advanced to second on a wild pitch, followed by a Roellig single to push him to third. Cameron Gurney earned a double RBI as he sent a single deep to the left side, putting the Utes within one of West Virginia. However, Utah could only manage two hits for the remainder of the night, and a final run in the seventh for the Mountaineers sealed the Utes’ defeat at 6-4.
Bloodied and bruised, Utah faced one final match that afternoon to try and salvage the weekend. The Utes started the day off successfully, recording three hits and a run in the second to gain some momentum. Not to be outdone, West Virginia responded in the bottom half with a homer while a throwing error from Utah let another runner slip through. Two more runs swept through before the inning was out, but the Utes held on as tight as they could.
With Roellig on base in the third, Jackson stepped in to deliver a homer, pushing Utah within one of the Mountaineers once again. A single run in the third from West Virginia widened the gap, and with the fourth inning underway it was off to the races. Seven hits and five runs later, the Utes were down 10-3 with roughly half the game to go. A wild pitch in the fifth found Jackson a run, but Utah had been stopped dead in their tracks. The Mountaineers finished off the fifth with one more, and a stolen base in the seventh helped them up to 12-4. For good measure, two runs in the eighth brought West Virginia to 14-4 as the game concluded without a ninth, sending Utah home empty-handed.
Up Next
This weekend, Utah welcomes Holy War rival BYU to Smith’s Ballpark for a series of three from April 10 through 12, which can be viewed on ESPN+.
