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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Baseball Notes
3/23/2004 12:00 AM | Baseball
March 23, 2004
SALT LAKE CITY -
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Coming Up
The Utah baseball team (5-13, 1-2) hosts instate rival Brigham Young (10-19, 0-3) for a three-game series at Franklin Covey Field this Thursday-Saturday, March 25-27. The Thursday and Friday games start at 6 p.m., while Saturday's game will be played at noon. The games will be broadcast live on the Internet at www.utahutes.com. To listen, go to the baseball page and click on "Streaming Audio." Dan Clayton will call the play-by-play and former Ute Jake Jordison will provide color commentary.
Probable Starters
Pos. Name B/T BA R H 2B 3B HR RBIC Trevor Eastman R/R .327 10 16 5 0 1 7 1B Michael Westfall, Jr. R/R .279 10 19 2 0 0 7 2B Jared Pena R/R .292 14 21 3 0 1 8 3B Cort Wilson R/R .238 8 15 3 0 3 5 SS Ryan Khoury R/R .320 11 24 3 0 2 6 LF TJ Floyd R/R .222 4 10 4 0 1 7 CF Matt Ciaramella S/L .319 13 23 6 0 1 13 RF Eric Chevalier R/R .208 2 10 2 0 1 7 DH Tyson Olson L/L .286 10 18 6 0 3 15
Probable Pitching Match-Ups
Thursday, March 25 B/T ERA W-L G/GS IP H R ER BB KOJason Price (Utah) L/L 4.35 1-3 6/6 41.1 37 23 20 13 36 Patrick Wells (BYU) L/L 5.07 3-2 8/8 49.2 58 31 28 14 29
Friday, March 26 B/T ERA W-L G/GS IP H R ER BB KO Doug Mackay (Utah) R/R 7.36 2-4 6/6 33.0 43 32 27 14 37 Paul Jacinto (BYU) R/R 6.80 0-6 9/9 49.0 63 45 37 16 39
Saturday, March 27 B/T ERA W-L G/GS IP H R ER BB KO Ben Buck (Utah) R/R 5.21 0-0 12/1 19.0 26 15 11 5 8 Justin Su'a (BYU) R/R 3.59 2-1 9/6 42.2 50 19 17 7 29
Utah Update
The Utes opened Mountain West Conference play with a 7-5 loss at New Mexico on Friday. Utah led 4-2 in the top of the fourth inning, but gave up five unanswered runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings. Sophomore southpaw Jason Price suffered the loss on the mound, falling to 1-3 on the year. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up six runs on 10 hits while striking out six. Freshman TJ Floyd went 2-for-4 on the game with two RBI, while junior Tyson Olson was 2-for-5 with two doubles, driving in two runs.
Despite being out-hit 12 to 8, Utah defeated New Mexico 6-5 Saturday. Junior Doug Mackay earned the win on the mound, improving to 2-4 on the year. He pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on 10 hits. He struck out eight and walked just one. Junior reliever Clay Westmoreland got the save, his second of the year. He threw 2.0 innings, giving up no hits and striking out three. Junior Matt Ciaramella was the only Ute with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
On Sunday, Utah dropped the series finale 11-6, despite out-hitting the Lobos 11-10. Westmoreland (1-2) suffered the loss on the mound, pitching 0.1 innings and giving up two runs on two hits. Utah's starter, Ben Buck, lasted 4.0 innings, giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out two. Ciaramella was 2-for-3 with one run, one RBI and a walk, while senior Jared Pena was 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Ryan Khoury went 2-for-5 on the day, while Michael Westfall, Jr. was 1-for-4 and drove in two runs.
Scouting the Opposition
BYU went 0-3 in its conference series opener last weekend against UNLV. On Thursday, after seven lead changes, UNLV ended up on top, beating BYU 12-9 in 11 innings. Seven pitchers were used by the Cougars, beginning with Patrick Wells, who went four-plus innings allowing five runs on nine hits. He struck out two while walking four. Bryce Burger (0-3) picked up the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in two innings of relief.
On Friday, BYU committed eight errors, which translated into 10 unearned runs, as UNLV routed the Cougars 17-1. Paul Jacinto (0-6) picked up the loss after pitching 3.2 innings and allowing eight runs, five earned, on nine hits while striking out four and walking two.
An eight-run eighth inning for UNLV spoiled a five-run BYU lead as the Rebels came back to win 12-6, completing a three-game sweep on Saturday. Four Cougar errors in the eighth inning resulted in five-unearned runs. In all, BYU committed seven errors in the game. The Cougars' starter, Justin Su'a, finished with five strikeouts, allowing three runs off six hits. Nathan Hess suffered the loss, falling to 2-3 on the year. Ryan Chambers, Ranger Wiens and Rob Itri all had 2-for-4 performances for BYU while Brandon Taylor hit his team-leading fifth home run.
Pena Named MWC Player of the Week
Senior shortstop Jared Pena was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for March 1-7 after leading the Utes to a 3-0 record last week. Pena hit .571 with two doubles, a home run and six RBI on the week. He also had a stolen base on his only attempt. In the first game against Southern Utah, he went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. In the second game vs. the Thunderbirds, Pena was 1-for-4 with one run and one RBI. On Saturday, Pena was a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate, with four runs scored and five RBI.
Utes Picked to Finish Fourth in MWC
Utah tied with New Mexico to finish fourth in the MWC 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.
Franklin Covey Field
Utah plays its conference 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
Utah travels to Colorado Springs, Colo., for a three-game series at Air Force next Friday-Sunday, April 2-4.
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