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
2009 Baseball Preview
2/16/2009 12:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 16, 2009
After a third-place run in the Mountain West Conference Tournament in 2008, head coach Bill Kinneberg is looking forward to continuing that momentum in the 2009 season.
"It was a good experience for our guys last year to go through that tournament and finish third," Kinneberg said. "We hope that success will carry on for the guys who are returning. It was important for them to see that they can do it and are capable of getting to that championship game. We got a little taste of it and hope to get more."
In addition to several young players returning, Kinneberg is also excited about a solid crop of newcomers who have the potential to both start and make an impact immediately.
"Each year you hope to improve your ballclub and I think we did this year as well," Kinneberg said. "Last year we started several freshmen and that's going to pay benefits for us this year as well as next year. We have a great group of freshmen this year who are going to be major contributors for us again."
Infield
Utah returns all four starters from last year's team. Around the infield is senior Austin Jones at first base, senior Corey Shimada at second base, sophomore Michael Beltran at shortstop and junior Nick Kuroczko at third base.
"It's nice to have all four guys back and they've all improved in their subtle ways," Kinneberg said. "With a baseball team you look at the middle and having Michael and Corey at shortstop and second base we feel like we have one of the best middles in our league."
Both Beltran and Shimada were named to the Rivals.com preseason All-MWC team. Beltran finished second on the team with a .372 hitting percentage for the season, while hitting .389 during conference play. He led all freshman hitters in the MWC and finished fourth overall in the league. The final month of the season, Beltran batted .397 (29-for-73). He was third on the team with 73 hits.
Shimada led the league in runs scored (65) and was second in triples (7) and stolen bases (21-of-28). He finished the year 21st in the country in triples. Shimada had a .329 batting average, including a team-best nine home runs and a .582 slugging percentage.
"Michael has really improved from last year," Kinneberg said. "He went through the freshman ups and downs last season. He gained a lot of experience over the last year and through the summer - we feel like he's going to be a great player. This is Corey's fourth year in the league and we feel like he can be a player of the year candidate if he puts it all together. He has power, can play defense and he should hit for a great average. We expect a lot out of Corey and he's going to lead us in some big games. He is also a great student and leader and will go a long ways in life."
Jones led Utah and was sixth in the conference with 51 RBI last year and had a .326 batting average. He also had 16 doubles and seven home runs.
"Austin is a good contact hitter - he doesn't have a lot of home runs, but he hits the ball in the gaps and can drive the ball," Kinneberg said. "He will probably hit in the fifth spot - the same place as last year - which creates a lot of RBI opportunities for us. We hope we can get some guys in front of him in the lineup - Shimada, CJ Cron, Beltran and Rick Cornu - on base so he can get those RBIs. He has improved defensively as well. Our new volunteer coach Pete Flores has worked hard with our infielders and helped Austin with his footwork."
Koroczko started the second half of the 2008 campaign at third base, batting .330 with five doubles and two triples. He just had four errors for a .927 fielding percentage last year.
"Nick won the third base position late last year and pulled ahead in the fall," Kinneberg said. "He has really grown as a player on both offense and defense. He will add some RBIs and power for us towards the bottom of the order."
Freshman Tyler Yagi will provide depth in the infield, serving in a backup role around the diamond. Yagi was an honorable mention all-state player at Skyline High School.
"Tyler is along the same lines as Corey was as a freshman. He has great hands, is a good defender, runs well and has amazing strength for a smaller frame," Kinneberg said.
Catcher
Utah is deepest at the catcher position, with sophomore Devin Walker and freshmen C.J. Cron and Jo Jo Sharrar all battling for the top spot.
Walker started in 10 games last season with eight hits, three doubles and 10 RBI. Cron was drafted by the Chicago White Sox last summer as the eighth selection in the 44th round. He hit .421 with eight home runs and 35 RBI's as a senior. Sharrar was an all-league player at Newberry Park High School.
"We have a unique situation where we have three very good catchers," Kinneberg said. "Devin Walker is back from last year, he will catch and play some designated hitter, but we have two good freshmen coming in. Early in the year, all three will play. CJ has really impressed me - I don't know if I have ever coached anyone with as much power as he has. He will hit in the fourth spot, and if he isn't catching, he will be playing DH. He has a great chance to be an unbelievable player in this league and in the country. Jo Jo is a great defensive catcher, although he is not quite as established as a hitter at this point. All three will help us and this is a chance not to wear anyone out at the catcher's position."
Outfield
Junior Cooper Blanc is the lone returning starter in the outfield. He batted .354 and was second on the team with 14 stolen bases.
"Cooper gives us a tough mentality," Kinneberg said. "He has done a great job this fall. He will be hitting behind Austin Jones in the sixth spot and will also have an opportunity to pick up some RBI's. We will also utilize his speed on the base paths for some stolen bases."
In right field, newcomer Rick Cornu has earned the starting spot after fall ball. He batted .372 out of Delta College with a .588 slugging percentage and only had two errors in the field.
"Rick will hit in the second hole for us," Kinneberg said. "He handles the bat well can steal bases, bunt and run well. He will cover some ground for us out there."
In left field, a battle for position is shaping up between junior college transfers Kevin Hussey and Zach Jones. Hussey played for Cochise while Jones prepped at Fresno City.
"Each of them will add something different," Kinneberg said. "Jones is a switch hitter who runs very well and will be a great player. Hussey has a bit of power.
"We have five guys who can play out there this year and last year we had very few options. Our depth is much better this year."
Pitcher
The pitcher position is where one of the biggest losses comes in, with last year's ace Stephen Fife forgoing his senior season to enter the draft. However, a strong list of returning players and a number of newcomers give Kinneberg plenty of options on the mound.
Senior Brian Budrow put up solid numbers last year, finishing fourth in the conference in ERA (3.49) and fifth in strikeouts (73) with a 6-5 record. He also pitched two complete games, including a first-round complete-game victory over Brigham Young in the MWC Tournament. Budrow also tied the school record for strikeouts in a game with 12 against Indiana.
"Brian will be the No. 1 guy to start because of his experience," Kinneberg said. "He put up better numbers than Fife did last year as far as ERA, but he will be challenged by Jordan Whatcott to be that No. 1 guy."
Whatcott went 6-2 at South Mountain Community College last year with a 1.83 ERA in 78.67 innings pitched, including 86 strikeouts. He was also named to the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference All-Conference team.
"Jordan has a great arm and is a great competitor. He has good command of three pitches and will be a high draft pick."
Other returning starters are juniors Andrew Wilding and Bryn Card. Wilding was 3-1 with eight starts and 30.1 innings pitched, while Card came on strong at the end of last season, with a 0.83 ERA over his final 21.2 innings pitched. He was 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA in 36.0 innings for the season.
"Both Andrew and Bryn started some games for us last year and will start a lot of games this year to help us determine who will start our conference game and which will start our Tuesday game. The first three weekends they will each get shots and we will determine who will be our No. 3 guy by the time that we play BYU.
Senior Robert Chimpky set a Utah record last year with nine saves. He finished the year with a 5.83 earned-run average in 29.1 innings pitched. He had 27 strikeouts to 14 walks and opponents hit .294 against him.
"Robert earned the closer position last year and we hope to continue to give him the opportunity to use him for saves."
Chimpky is being challenged by several players, including sophomore Stephen Streich, senior Bennett Askew and freshman Joe Pond, who also will see action in middle relief. Streich went 1-1 in 22 appearances (36.2 innings) and had a 4.91 ERA. Askew saw action in 15 games and struck out 16 compared to four walks. Pond was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 39th round of the draft. The two-sport athlete at Judge Memorial High School was the state Player of the Year by the Salt Lake Tribune and earned `Mr. Baseball' honors from the Deseret News.
"Streich really pitched well this fall and had a great summer," Kinneberg said. "He gets out of situations better than most. He can get us a quick ground ball our double play ball. We used him in middle relief last year and may use him at the end of the game as well. Askew is another guy on the draft list. If he gets more consistent with his mechanics and drives the ball down in the zone he is very effective. He will play in middle relief early in the year and has the chance to play a lot of innings for us. I am excited about Joe Pond, he was drafted and elected to come to school. By mid-year he has a chance to play a really important role for us in long or middle relief and could challenge for a starting position. He still has some things to learn but he has a good arm and a good breaking ball."
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