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
Baseball Begins Season This Weekend
1/23/2001 12:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 23, 2001
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -
LOOKING AT THE UTES
There may be nothing more valuable in athletics than experience. If that's the case, the 2001 University of Utah baseball team may be armed and ready to set a new standard for Utah baseball.
"There is some excitement with this 2001 team," says head coach Tim Esmay. "Our goal is not only to be the best team to ever play at the U., but we are shooting to be the first Utah team to play in a post-season regional. We want to win the Mountain West Conference and play in a regional."
Utah returns 20 letterwinners from last year's squad, which includes every starting position player, the starting designated hitter, and nine pitchers.
The Utes ended last season winning six of their last 10 and nine of their last 14.
SCOUTING CAL POLY
Cal Poly comes into this series after opening their brand new Baggett Stadium with a 6-5, 12-inning win against 11th ranked Stanford on Jan. 21.
Last season the Mustangs finished with a record of 32-24, their first season over .500 in two years. This year's squad returns 20 players from that team, including six starters.
Look for Jared Blasdell, Brian Haskell, and Tyler Fitch to make starts in the series. Blasdell finished last season with a 3.94 ERA, while leading the team with seven victories. Haskell, is a transfer from Northeast Oklahoma JC and Fitch was 5-2 with a 4.65 ERA last season.
The mustangs offense is led by Keith Anderson. Last season Anderson hit .311 and drove in 49 runs. They will also get some punch from Chris Martinez and Kevin Tillman. Martinez finished last season at .345 while Tillman hit .342.
LAST SEASON REWIND
The Utes opened last season with 22 road games and had a record of 8-14 in those games. They won two from Cal Poly, two more from Loyola Marymount, and got their first conference win at San Diego State during that stretch.
They went on to finish at 26-30 overall and 15-15 in the Mountain West Conference. Sam Swenson, Brit Pannier, Nate Weese, and Mike Goff were all-conference selections last season. Of those four, three will return for this season, the exception being Goff who is taking a medical redshirt.
SUPER SWENSON
Outfielder Sam Swenson returns for his senior campaign after leading the team in slugging percentage (.651), on base percentage (.430), runs scored (58), doubles (21), and triples (7). He was also third with his .339 batting average. In a three-game series against UNLV he hit .583 with three triples, one double, and one home run.
Swenson also finished in the top-five in the Mountain West Conference in six offensive categories, including leading the conference in triples. His seven triples (0.13 per game) placed him 14th in the nation.
Swenson's 10 career triples is the Utah school record.
WILD WEESE
Junior Nate Weese returns to first this season for the Utes. Last season Weese was ranked in Utah's top-two in eight offensive categories. He led the team with 78 hits, 63 RBI, 13 home runs, and 147 total bases. In the Mountain West Conference Weese ranked second in RBI, triples, and homeruns. He was also fourth in total bases and seventh in slugging percentage (.636).
Weese was the Utes top clutch hitter last season. With runners on base he hit an astonishing .511 including .480 with runners in scoring position. He also led the team with his 18 two-out RBI.
ON THE MOUND
This season's pitching staff returns nine players from last season. Those nine combined to go 21-19 with a 6.09 ERA. Ryan Bailey has the most experience of the group. He made 14 appearances, all starts, going 3-6 with a 7.52 ERA. Bailey finished with 45 strike outs and only 33 walks in 63 innings.
Jon Lewis will open this season as the Saturday starter. Last season he finished 5-2 with a 4.15 ERA in 15 appearances, including two starts.
Sophomore Jason Wylie will be the Sunday starter in the openeing series of the season. He made three starts in his 13 appearances last year. He finished the season at 1-1 with a 9.89 ERA.
IN THE PEN
The Utes bullpen should be strong this season with Matt McAfee and Mitch Maio returning. Last season those two combined to go 4-4 with three saves in 40 appearances out of the pen. McAfee led all Ute pitchers with his 3.38 ERA while Maio was third at 3.86.
Mix in Brett Lindsey who was a perfect 3-0 with a 4.55 ERA in 17 releif stints. He was the toughest Ute pitcher to hit as he held opposing hitters to a .206 batting average.
Sophomores Ben Heusser and Dan Owens should play important roles as the only two lefthanders on the staff. Look for them to get some important innings for the Utes.
AROUND THE HORN
The middle of the Utes infield will be solid again this season with the shortstop duo of Tommy Maestas and Rob Stuart mixed with the staple at second base, Adam Castleton. Stuart has made 71 starts in his two seasons and Castleton has been in 103 games during his two seasons. Michael Westfall is back from an injury and will take over for Mike Goff at third. Goff is taking a medical redshirt due to a knee injury.
Behind the plate Donald Hawes returns for his third season as the Utes backstop. Last season Hawes made 47 starts at catcher and threw out 46 potential base stealers. In addition he contributed 10 home runs, eight doubles, and 35 RBI.
IN THE OUTFIELD
All three starting outfielders return from last season to roam the pasture for the Utes this season. Donnie Saba, Sam Swenson, and Jed Chrisman played in 96% of Utah's games last season. Combined the three hit .315 with 52 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs, and 105 RBI.
Add outfielder/designated hitter Brit Pannier to that mix and they only get stronger. Last season Pannier led the team with his .350 batting average playing primarily at DH. During his play in the field he put together a 1.000 fielding percentage and three assists.
UTAH TIDBITS
As a team last season the Utes were ranked in the top-25 nationally in four offensive categories. They were fourth in doubles (147), ninth in triples (27), 18th in slugging percentage (.513), and 25th in home runs (70).
Last season the Utes were outscored 403-372, but if you remove the first three innings, they outscored their opponent 249-226. Their best two innings were the sixth and seventh. In those two innings the Utes outscored their opponent 110-80.
The Utes finished 9-4 in one-run games last season, but were only 2-6 in two-run games. They started the seaon 0-6 in two-run games before taking their final two such games. They have also won their last three one-run games.
The Utes last won on opening day on Feb. 8 at Southern Utah. That day they swept a double-header from SUU 12-10 and 13-1.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Utes continue their season opening 22-game road trip at the University of Pacific next weekend, Feb. 2-4. The two teams will play a double header on Feb. 3.
Last season the Tigers swept a double header from the Utes, winning 9-4 and 5-0 on Feb. 12. In the second game Pacific held the Utes to only four hits.
Under coach Esmay the Utes are 3-7 against Pacific, with their last win coming on Feb. 13, 1999.
HEAD COACH TIM ESMAY
Tim Esmay enters his fifth season as Utah's head baseball coach, and is looking to break new ground in the Mountain West Conference. The MWC is scaling back to the original building blocks of the Western Athletic Conference, giving the Utes a chance to reestablish themselves as a dominant conference foe. Esmay enters the season with a 107-112-1 overall record and a 57-61 career conference mark.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., native started his coaching career as a graduate student at Arizona State. He stayed at ASU for five years as an assistant coach under Jim Brock and Jeff Pentland.
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