Completed Event: Baseball versus No. 11 seed Kansas State on May 19, 2026 , Loss , 5, to, 9
Final Score
Baseball
5
vs No. 11 seed Kansas State
9
The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Baseball To Make Home Debut
3/15/2000 12:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2000
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah men's baseball team is 1-2 in the Mountain West Conference after their opening league series against San Diego State. The weekend brings Utah to an 8-14 overall record.
Utah Home Opener
Utah opens its home schedule with a three-game conference series against UNLV. The Utes and the Rebels face-off March 17-19 at Franklin Covey Field. Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will start at 1:00 p.m.
A Quick Look at UNLV
The Rebels are 6-18 on the season with an 0-3 conference record. UNLV owns all of its league loss to Brigham Young who dominated the Rebels 9-1, 5-3 and 9-8. UNLV is batting .287 as a team with a .395 slugging percentage. The Rebel pitching squad posts a 6.20 team ERA. UNLV returns three starters and 15 letterwinners. Last season, the Rebels finished 27-24 with a 16-14 Western Athletic Conference record to finish fourth in the conference. UNLV is coached by Rod Soesbe.
Utes in the Mountain West
Utah is second in the MWC with a .958 fielding percentage. In 771 chances, Utah has made 528 putouts, 211 assists with only 32 errors. The Utes are second in the conference with 23 home runs, behind Brigham Young that posts 25. Utah is ranked third in the league with six triples and fourth with a .444 slugging percentage. On the mound, the Utes lead the MWC allowing only 36 doubles.
Recent Results
The Utah baseball team dropped two games and won one against San Diego State in its conference opener March 10-12. In their first Mountain West Conference game, the Utes fell to the Aztecs in a devastating 20-1 loss. Utah scored its only run in the top of the ninth inning on a solo home run by first baseman Nate Weese. The Utes had seven hits and seven errors in the game. San Diego State scored 20 on 22 hits with one error.
In the second game, despite Utah scoring two runs in the first two innings, San Diego State quickly overtook the lead scoring forcing the Utes into the ninth inning facing a commanding 6-3 deficit. With the bases loaded, sophomore Rob Stuart tripled to right field to score all three runners. He was later brought in on a single by freshman left fielder Donnie Saba for the win.
Highlighting for the Utes, centerfielder Sam Swenson hit his fifth home run of the season. He was 1-for-4 in the game scoring one run and one RBI. Castleton also cracked his second homer of the year. The second baseman was 1-of-3 scoring two runs and one RBI.
Pitcher Mitch Maio picks up his second win of the season. He pitched the final 1.2 innings of the game allowing only one hit and one run. Senior Jared Cavaness started the game for Utah pitching 7.1 innings. The hurler faced 31 batters, allowed nine hits and five runs while striking out three batters.
In the final game, San Diego State took off with a commanding 4-0 lead in the first five innings. Utah scored one run in the sixth and seventh innings, but were matched by the Aztecs who also scored solo runs in the sixth and seventh. The Utes were down 6-3 heading into the top of the ninth. In a situation of deja vu, Utah loaded the bases and brought three runners in on a double by Mike Goff, for a 6-6 tie. The Utes were unable to hold onto the lead however as they gave up two runs in the bottom of the ninth on a home run to Andy Litteral.
Mike McAfee picks up his first loss for Utah. He pitched the final 1.2 innings of the game facing eight batters. He allowed three hits, two runs and struck out four batters.
On the Mound
Sophomore Mitch Maio leads the Utah mound staff with a 2.81 ERA and a 2-0 season record. The hurler has made nine appearances for the Utes pitching 16 innings. He is tied for first on the team with 24 strikeouts and leads the Utes with one save. He has allowed only 10 hits and five earned runs. In the Mountain West, Maio is second in opposing batting average, keeping the opposition to a .175 average. Maio is also ranked fourth in appearances and sixth in ERA.
Lon Lewis is second on the team with a 2.81 ERA. He is 2-0 so far this season making six appearances and pitching 15.1 innings. Lewis is fourth on the team with 16 strikeouts. He has allowed 14 hits and five earned runs. Lewis ranks seventh in the Mountain West in ERA and is tied for second with one runner picked off.
Senior starter Jared Cavaness posts a 5.27 ERA. He leads the team pitching 41 innings and is tied with Maio with 24 strikeouts. So far this year, Cavaness is 1-3 making seven appearances including two complete games. He has allowed 45 hits and 24 earned runs. He leads the Mountain West with seven games started, is tied for second with one runner picked off and is fourth in innings pitched.
Rounding the Bases
Junior Jed Chrisman leads the Utes with a .346 batting average. The rightfielder leads the team with 28 hits including four doubles and three home runs. He also posts 13 RBI and a .506 slugging percentage. Chrisman is 100 percent in the field making 33 putouts and one assist.
Center fielder Sam Swenson is second on the team with a .313 batting average. He has started all 22 games for Utah and is second with 26 hits. He leads the team with 10 doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI. He also has one triple and a .639 slugging percentage. In the Mountain West, Swenson is ranked second in home runs, third with 53 total bases, fourth in doubles and ninth in slugging percentage. He is also ninth with 100 total plate appearances. In the field, Swenson has a perfect 100 percent fielding percentage from 50 putouts.
Sophomore Nate Weese posts an impressive .929 fielding percentage from 199 putouts, 10 assists and only four errors. He leads the conference in putouts. He also leads the league with 214 chances and 15 double plays. At the plate, Weese has a .273 batting average. He is third on the team with 24 hits and is second with four home runs. He also has three doubles, two triples and 12 RBI.
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Baseball's Seth Graham-Pippin & Jet Gilliam
Friday, May 15
ESPN+ Feature | Behind Game Day: Grass & Turf
Tuesday, May 12
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Baseball's Luke Jacobs
Wednesday, April 29
ESPN+ Feature | Utah Baseball's Cal Miller
Friday, April 24