STANFORD, Calif. – The Utah baseball team was able to muster just three hits as the Utes fell to No. 9 Stanford, 5-1, on Sunday at Sunken Diamond.
Utah will conclude its series with Stanford on Monday with a 1:05 p.m. MT first pitch.
Jayden Kiernan was 2-for-3 and
Davis Cop had Utah's other hit on the day. Cop walked twice, while
TJ Clarkson worked a free pass in the ninth inning to extend his team-leading reached base streak to 19 consecutive games.
Utah threatened in the ninth but it was too little, too late for the Utes. Two walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out, then
Cameron Gurney hustled to beat out a double play ball. It not only kept the ballgame going but allowed
Landon Frei to get Utah on the scoreboard. That would be all though, as Stanford closed out the game with a strikeout.
The Cardinal built a three-run lead through the first two innings, plating a pair in the opening frame then adding another tally in the second on Eddie Park's RBI double.
Utah's two early chances to get on the board came in the second and fourth innings when the squad put runners at the corners. In the fourth Gurney sent a deep fly ball to center field but it was caught on the warning track to end the threat.
The Cardinal added two more runs in their half of the sixth, leaving the score at 5-0 before the Utes tallied a run in the ninth.
Starter
Bryson Van Sickle (2-2) received the loss for Utah, going five innings in his outing—Van Sickle was responsible for three runs on nine hits and two walks, striking out one batter.
Cam Day took it from there, responsible for two runs and a strikeout during the final three innings and going without a walk.
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