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
Fall Baseball Update
10/8/2010 12:00 AM | Baseball
Oct. 8, 2010
The Utah baseball team has spent the last few weeks in fall practice. UtahUtes.com caught up with head coach Bill Kinneberg to discuss how practice has been going.
Who are some of the new players who have been playing well?
The freshmen are progressing very well - they are very good athletes. They are getting used to the system and getting used to the workload. Trey Nielsen, Josh Alexander, Ben Mordini and Luke West are going to be a vital part of our team this year and will be thrust into major roles. Junior college transfers Shaun Cooper and James Brooks have really been impressive, both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Those six guys are really coming along and making our team much stronger.
What have you seen out of the returning players?
C.J. Cron is progressing fairly well after a knee injury. He is just hitting and not doing any defensive work at this point, but he is starting to progress. Joe Pond came back healthy after sitting out last year following surgery, so that's a good sign. Jo Jo Sharrar has become a much better player over the summer. Michael Beltran had surgery for a broken bone in his hand over the summer and he is still progressing and getting better. With James Brooks coming in, we are going to have a really good middle with him and Beltran either playing short or second.
The pitching is progressing. Zach Adams' is coming back from injury which is really positive for us. Brock Duke came back hurt from the summer but he is progressing nicely at this point. Tyler Wagner is doing a great job. He is just going to pitch now and he won't play any defense or bat, which I think is a great deal for him. Rick Anton is also back, and with the freshmen it will be exciting to see what our rotation looks like this spring.
How do you feel at this point in the fall?
We are still trying to get used to the new bat standard. That's a work in progress right now. It's much like wood. I think that production, execution and pressure offense is going to be vital to scoring runs. We're not going to see as many home runs or as many balls driven in gaps at this point, but I think everyone in the country is seeing that and adjusting to that. Assistant coach Bryan Kinneberg has done a good job with our hitters to develop quality swings and quality at-bats. That will be imperative with these new bats and adding production.
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