SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah baseball team won its second Pac-12 series of the season with a 3-2 victory over Arizona on Saturday afternoon.
Utah (12-28, 6-11 Pac-12) took an early 2-0 lead and added an insurance run in the seventh inning for the win.
Josh Tedeschi was strong on the mound for the Utes, picking up his first win of the season with a 7 2/3 innings, two run, six hit, four strikeout performance while surrendering just one walk.
Trenton Stoltz earned his sixth save of the season with his second save of the series, throwing the final 1 1/3 innings.
Oliver Dunn went 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI while
Chandler Anderson was 2-for-4.
Utah got on the board quickly as
DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., walked to lead off the inning and Dunn scored later in the inning on an RBI single from
Erick Migueles for a 1-0 lead. The Utes took a 2-0 advantage in the second.
Davis Delorefice was hit by a pitch to start the inning and with two outs, a misjudged fly ball turned into an RBI triple for Keirsey.
Tedeschi and Arizona's Michael Flynn combined to keep the bats quiet through the next four innings. Although Arizona put two on with no outs in the top of the sixth, Tedeschi got two fly outs and a ground out to end the threat.
Both teams scored a run in the seventh. The Wildcats got on the board with a run on two hits in the top of the inning and singles from Chris Rowan and Dunn led to a run in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Utah to hold its two-run advantage. A solo home run in the top of the eighth brought Arizona back to within a run, 3-2. Although the Wildcats got the leadoff batter on after an error in the top of the ninth, a ground out and to fly outs gave the Utes the victory.
Utah and Arizona play game three of the series on Sunday, April 29, at 1:00 p.m. MT.