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 Notes
2/11/2004 12:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 11, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY -
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Season Opener
The Utes kick off their 2004 season on the road at the Surprise Coca Cola Classic in Surprise, Ariz. Utah faces Oregon State at 11 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Gonzaga at noon on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Utah Season Outlook
With 16 newcomers, the 2003 Utah baseball team suffered through frustrating growing pains, finishing the season 24-32 overall and 10-20 in the Mountain West Conference, good for fifth place in the six-team league. With the addition of a new pitching coach and the return of six of eight starting position players, Head Coach Tim Esmay is extremely optimistic about the possibilities for the Utes in 2004.
"We have much more experience both on and off the mound this season," he claims. "We've had enough guys go through the fire - experience the good and the bad. We all know that we're better now because we've been through both."
Esmay and the Utes have some pretty lofty goals for the season, including winning both the conference regular season and MWC Tournament, and winning 40 or more games. "These goals are realistic because of the combination of our experienced returners and a talented group of newcomers that we've added," he says.
Bryan Conger, who has extensive coaching experience at the Division II and junior college levels, joined the Utes in the off-season and looks to turn around a pitching staff that posted a combined ERA of 6.20 last season. At his last school, Conger's pitching staff set school records for ERA, strikeouts, saves and appearances, and Esmay hopes Conger can have similar results here.
"Bryan has proven he's a winner everywhere he's been," Esmay notes. "His experience and success definitely set him apart. We're very excited to bring him into the program."
Conger will have plenty to work with as Utah returns all three regular starters from last season in Doug Mackay, Jason Price and Clay Westmoreland. Mackay, who will be the Friday starter, led the team in strikeouts (56) last season. "Doug has established himself as the catalyst of the pitching staff," Esmay says. "We're definitely looking for him to start each weekend out on a positive for us. He is the leader of the pitching staff."
Price, the projected Saturday starter, posted the second-lowest opponent batting average (.285) on last year's team. "Jason had a good freshman year and an outstanding fall," Esmay notes. "It's nice to have a quality lefty in the rotation and he's already pitched in high pressure, big-time games and proven he's a winner."
The Sunday starter will likely be freshman Eric Schaler, who went 7-0 with a 1.54 ERA last year as a senior in high school and was drafted in the 48th round by the Yankees. "Eric is an unproven freshman with lots of talent," Esmay says. "He matured faster than anticipated and we're excited to see what he's capable of doing."
Westmoreland, a two-time MWC Pitcher of the Week in 2003, has been moved out of the starting lineup to a new role as a closer. Esmay hopes Westmoreland will address the loss to an LDS mission of Brady Martinez, Utah's primary closer and a second-team all-conference pick last year. "The decision was made to use Clay's abilities in more than one game each weekend," Esmay notes. "Our hope is that when the eighth inning rolls around, the game is over when we give the ball to Clay."
In addition, Esmay says that the other pitchers each have defined roles going into the season. "We've pieced together a staff that pitches to particular situations," he says. "Every pitcher on our team will be a factor and will get innings."
Behind the plate, Utah returns senior Nate Schlieman, who saw time as a backup last season and appears to have battled through back problems. "Nate is the leader of the defense," Esmay says. "It's nice to know that he'll be counted on to be in the lineup after coming off an injury."
Sharing the starting role with Schlieman will be junior Trevor Eastman, a transfer from Salt Lake Community College. Eastman was a second-team all-region pick last year and ranked second on the team with a .328 batting average. "Trevor should continue the long line of tradition established at Utah as a very good hitting catcher," Esmay claims. "We're looking for a big year for him."
Jared Pena, a first-team all-conference second baseman last season, will anchor the Ute infield. Also returning are third baseman Cort Wilson, who was named to the MWC Championship all-tournament team, sophomore shortstop Ryan Khoury, who started 46 games last year, and senior first baseman Mike Westfall, a two-time all-conference pick. "We have a very mature, veteran infield," Esmay notes. "Our defense should be the strength of our team."
The Ute outfield is loaded with talent. "This is the most talented outfield as a group that we've had since I've been here," Esmay says.
Matt Ciaramella, a two-time all-MWC outfielder and Eric Chevalier, who led the Utes in batting average and didn't commit any errors last season, will lead the way.
One of four newcomers - junior transfers Tyson Olson, TJ Floyd and Tyler Kay, or freshman John Welsh - will fill the third spot. Olson was a two-time all-conference pick at Dixie Junior College, while Floyd started 51 games last year at Utah Valley State. Kay was named team MVP and second-team all-region at Salt Lake Community College, and Welsh was a first-team all-state pick by the Deseret News in 2003 after hitting .458.
"Those four are all fighting for the left field spot and for quality overall backups," Esmay explains. "There's a good chance that whoever's not playing left field will be our DH."
With the combination of experience, depth and new blood, Esmay is more excited about this season than any in recent years. "We have all the ingredients for success and I really think we're going to be able to put it all together this year," he explains.
Scouting the Opposition
Oregon State (0-0) - The Beavers went 25-28 last season, good for an eighth-place tie in the Pac-10. Oregon State returns 11 starters from last year's team, led by Aaron Mathews and Jacoby Ellsbury, both of whom were named All-Pac-10 honorable mention last year. On the mound, the Beavers will be led by lefthander Jake Postlewait and righthander Ben Rowe. Postlewait was a first-team All-Pac-10 pick last year, while Rowe was drafted in the 24th round by the Texas Rangers but opted to return for his senior season.
Utah is 1-4 all-time vs. the Beavers. The last time the two teams met, in 1996, the Utes lost 7-0 at the Arthur Gallagher Classic in San Diego. Utah's sole victory against Oregon State was a 7-3 win in 1993.
Arizona State (3-0) - Arizona State, which has been ranked for 80 consecutive weeks and is currently No. 7 nationally, opened the season with a three-game sweep of Florida State last weekend. The Sun Devils were picked to finish second behind Stanford in the Pac-10 in the preseason coaches poll. ASU is led by preseason All-America candidates Dustin Pedroia and Jeff Larish. Pedroia hit .404 with 52 RBI last season and was a first-team All-American at shortstop. Larish hit .372 with 95 RBI last season and was rated by Baseball Weekly as the No. 5 prospect heading into the season.
Utah is 5-25 all-time vs. the Sun Devils. The last time the two teams met, on March 8, 2003, the Utes fell 6-4 in Tempe, Ariz.
Gonzaga (0-0) - Gonzaga, which was picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference, begins a new era this season as Mark Machtolf takes over as head coach after 11 years as an assistant. The Bulldogs went 26-25-1 last year and will be led this season by juniors Eric Dworkis and Jeff Culpepper. Dworkis was named the No. 1 draft prospect in the WCC after posting an 8-5 record with a 2.88 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 2003. Culpepper was selected the WCC's best pure hitter after hitting .330 with one home run and 40 RBI last year.
Utah is 0-3 all-time vs. the Bulldogs. The last meetings came in 1982, when Gonzaga won 10-5 and 13-9 at the Lewis-Clark State Tournament.
Tournament Tidbits
This is the second annual Coca-Cola Classic. The tournament is held at the Surprise Recreation Campus, the spring training home of the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals, located approximately 25 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Utes and Season Openers
Utah is 7-16 in season openers (since 1981). The Utes fell 8-5 last year at Mesa State to open the season. In 2002, Utah defeated Cal Poly 6-4 in its season opener.
Head Coach Tim Esmay
Tim Esmay enters his eighth season as Utah's head baseball coach. Esmay comes into the season with a 191-199-1 overall record and a 97-111 career conference mark. During his seven seasons at the U., 15 of his athletes have gone on to play professional baseball. Most recently, Sean Overholt, Nate Weese, Mitch Maio, Donnie Saba, Jason Wylie and Donald Hawes signed with professional teams.
Last season, the Utes went 24-32 overall and 10-20 in MWC play, with 12 of the Utes' 32 losses coming by two runs or less. Three Utes - Jared Pena, Matt Ciaramella and Brady Martinez - were named to the all-conference team.
The Scottsdale, Ariz., native started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Arizona State. He stayed at ASU for five years as an assistant coach under Jim Brock and Jeff Pentland (the current hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals). Esmay coached for two years at Brophy College Prep High School in Phoenix, before returning to ASU as a volunteer assistant to Brock in '94. He coached at Grand Canyon in 1995, then made his move to Utah as an assistant in '96. He also served as a head coach in the Arizona Summer Collegiate League from 1988-93.
A talented player in his own right, Esmay played at Arizona State from 1986-87 and was a member of the ASU team that appeared in the 1987 College World Series. Esmay hit .308 in his two years as a Sun Devil and was named to the all-West Region team. He played at Scottsdale Community College from 1985-86, where he was named a junior college All-American.
Esmay earned a bachelor's degree in physical education from Arizona State in '88. The 38-year-old Esmay and his wife Joell are the parents of two sons, Tucker and Cooper.
Utes Picked to Finish Fourth in MWC
Utah tied with New Mexico to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference in the preseason coaches poll. The Utes and the Lobos collected 12 points apiece in the poll. UNLV, last year's regular-season and tournament champion, received four of the six first-place votes and collected 24 points to capture the top spot in the poll, followed by San Diego State with 22 points. Brigham Young earned 15 points to place third. Air Force ranked sixth with five points.
Utes and Summer Ball
Three Utes played summer ball in collegiate leagues. Eric Chevalier played for the Seattle Studs in the Pacific International League and was named All-PIL after hitting .400 with four homers and 21 RBI on the season. He was also named to league's all-tournament team, was the MVP of the All-American Invitational (AAI) and was named PIL Player of the Week.
Junior Matt Ciaramella played for the Yarmouth Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod League and posted a .203 batting average in 36 games. Meanwhile, senior Cort Wilson played for the Harrisonburg Turks of the Valley League.
Utah's assistant coaches also participated. Matt Eeles served as an assistant coach for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League. The team, armed with the league MVP, went 24-17-3 and tied for first place in their division. Volunteer Assistant Coach Chris Simonsen served as the pitching coach for the Jackson Senators of the Central League. The team went 68-37 and won the Central Baseball League championship.
On the Road Again
The Utes will play 18 road games before hosting Brigham Young for a three-game series Thursday-Saturday, March 25-27, at Franklin Covey Field.
Franklin Covey Field
Utah plays the majority of its home games at state-of-the-art Franklin Covey Field (15,500). The 13,000-seat facility (not including the general admission area), also serves as the home to Salt Lake's AAA baseball team, the Stingers, an affiliate of the Anaheim Angels.
On Deck
The Utes travel to Orlando, Fla., for a three-game series at Central Florida next Friday-Sunday, Feb. 20-22. Friday's game starts at 6 p.m. (EDT), while Saturday and Sunday's games begin at 1 p.m. (EDT).
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