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 Set to Play Four-Game Series at UC Davis
2/26/2008 12:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 26, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The University of Utah baseball team (0-3 overall) continues its 17-game season-opening road swing when it plays at UC Davis this weekend. The two will play a single game on Friday (2 p.m.), a doubleheader on Saturday (11 a.m.), and a single game on Sunday (1 p.m.). All times are Pacific Time.
Utah opened the season with three losses to San Jose State. The fourth game in the series was canceled due to heavy and persistent rain.
Quoting Head Coach Bill Kinneberg:
On this weekend's games at UC Davis: We need to get into our routine of play, and we need to evaluate our players. It's important that we get the roles firmly established on this team, especially on the mound. We know who our starters are going to be, but we need evaluate who can put out fires in the bullpen, and who can be used in certain situations.
On last weekend at San Jose State: We have got a lot of work to do, and we have a lot evaluation ahead of us. We didn't get a chance to get in to a routine. With all of the rain and uncertainty last week, we never got to hit in the cages or take any infield. It's important for us to get into a rhythm and that we put it all together on game day.
We played well in some spots. It seemed like a typical weekend in that some swung the bat well, some pitched well and some played defense well. But, on the flip side, some of our guys struggled in those areas. What's hard is that we didn't overcome some of the difficulties we experienced in the two games that we were in position to win.
Scouting UC Davis
The Aggies enter the week with a 2-2 record. They will host Saint Mary's in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday afternoon. Last weekend, the Aggies topped No. 18 Fresno State in the season's first two games. But, it turned around and dropped the final two of the series. UC Davis returns 18 letterwinners and six starters from the 2007 team that went 24-32. It also returns four of its starting pitchers from last year's team. The pre-season coaches poll tabbed the Aggies to finish in eighth place in the Big West. After one weekend of play, the Aggies boast five players hitting .300 or better. They are led by the stick of Jake Jefferies who is hitting .500 (7-for-14). Jefferies leads the team in hits (7) and in RBI (4). Brad McAtee is among the team's top hurlers. He tossed seven innings last week, and he allowed on six hits and no runs.
Last Week - Utah dropped the first three games of the season at San Jose State. The fourth game of the series had to be canceled due to persistent rain in the Bay Area. Utah fell in games one, 6-5 (10), two, 7-6, and three, 10-4.
Game one saw Utah rally from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning. With runners on second and third Michael Beltran grounded out to first base, allowing Cooper Blanc to score. A wild pitch during the next at bat let DC Legg score to tie the game. However, SJSU scored in the bottom of the 10th frame. With a runner on second, a fielding error allowed the runner to score and lift the Spartans past Utah. Reliever Robert Chimpky was saddled with the hard-luck loss in game one.
Utah held a three-run lead late in game two, but couldn't hold SJSU at bay. Utah went up three runs in the eighth inning on Jesse Shriner's RBI double, Cody Guymon's sac fly, and on a double-steal that allowed Shriner to steal home for the third run. But, SJSU had four runs in its tank, scoring that many times in the bottom of the eighth. John James took the loss in relief in game two of the series.
It was all SJSU in the third and final game. The Spartans scored three runs in the first inning, and held a 5-1 lead after three frames. Shriner had an RBI double in the fifth, and Guymon followed that with an RBI single to the shortstop. The two runs made it 7-4, SJSU, but that was as close as Utah would get. The home team countered with three runs in the bottom of the fifth as it cruised to the six-run win. Kerr Foster took the loss in the final game of the series.
Team Notes -
On the Offensive - Cody Guymon is off to a hot start in 2008. He played both catcher and designated hitter last week, and chalked up a league-leading .667 batting average. He went 6-for-9 at the plate and led the team in hits, doubles (3), RBI (4) and on-base percentage (.667). Guymon also owns an impressive 1.000 slugging percentage, tallying nine total bases in nine at bats. Last year, Guymon played in 33 games, and he hit .313 with 17 RBI.
Start Me Up - Brian Budrow, a right-handed pitcher who transferred from Oregon State, put up some impressive numbers in his first collegiate start. He got the nod in game two last week, and he went five innings. During his time on the mound, Budrow recorded eight strikeouts to no walks, and he only scattered four hits. His eight K's led all Mountain West Conference pitchers last weekend.
One Right After Another - Three Utah players started the season with hitting streaks. Cody Guymon, Corey Shimada and Jesse Shriner each had a hit in the first three games. Austin Jones finished the three-game series last weekend with a hit in the last two.
Extra! Extra! - Jesse Shriner had a big outing for the Utes last weekend. The catcher/designated hitter wen 4-for-12 at the plate last weened. However, three of the four hits went for extra bases. He tallied the team's first, and only, thus far, home run. Shriner also had a pair of doubles. His two doubles and one homer on the young season are both tied for third in the league.
Welcome to the Next Level - A pair of freshmen made their debut in a Utah uniform last weekend. Shortstop Michael Beltran and third baseman DC Legg started all three games that they played in last weekend. Beltran recorded his first career RBI in the season-opener, and he tallied his first collegiate hit in game three of the SJSU series.
Nice Move! - Utah did its best last weekend to take advantage of its baserunners. The Utes put down five sacrifice hits last weekend. That was the tied for the most in the league after the first weekend of play. UNLV and New Mexico also laid down five sacrifice bunts last weekend. Freshman shortstop Michael Beltran led the Utes in sacrifices last weekend, laying two sac bunts.
Balls and Strikes - Utah is 0-2 in day games, 0-1 in night games ... it has scored 9 of its 15 runs in the last three innings ... the Utes comitted nine errors in their first time outdoors last weekend. That led to nine unearned runs ... the team is hitting .238 for the season, but that average jumps up to .333 when there are runners in scoring position. Cody Guymon is 3-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Austin Jones is 2-for-5 and Jesse Shriner is 2-for-4 ... Utah owns a .321 batting average in lead-off situations. Guymon and Shirner are both a team-best 2-for-3 when they lead an inning off ... five pitchers have held their opponents hitless in two-out situations. Leading the way for the Utes is Brian Budrow. Opponent batters are 0-for-5 when they face Budrow with two outs.
At the Helm - Head coach Bill Kinneberg is in his fourth consecutive season as Utah's mentor, and it is his fifth overall season as the Ute head coach. He was on the Utah bench for the 1996 season, and returned to The U., in 2004. He is 101-120 all-time at Utah and he owns a 346-303 career record in 11 years. Prior to Utah, Kinneberg was a head coach at both UTEP and Wyoming, and he was also a pitching coach in the White Sox minor league organization. Bill Kinneberg is assisted by Bryan Conger, Bryan Kinneberg and Nate Schlieman.
Up Next - The Utes will play at Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah, on March 6-8. It will then play in the six-game Pepsi Johnny Quick Tournament in Fresno, Calif., from March 10-15.
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