Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Vanderbilt on October 10, 2025 at 1 p.m.
1 p.m.
Baseball
vs Vanderbilt
Thursday, April 6
Los Angeles, CA
7:00 PM
University of Utah
at
UCLA
Photo by: Bryan Byerly/Utah Athletics
Utes Outbound to No. 23 UCLA and Jackie Robinson Stadium
4/5/2023 4:00 PM | Baseball
Three-game series opens Thursday with the Bruins
| 2023 Utah Baseball Game Notes | |
| Games 28-30 Date // Time (MT) |
Utah (11-16 overall, 3-9 Pac-12) at No. 23 UCLA (17-8 overall, 6-5 Pac-12) Thursday, April 6 // 7 p.m. Friday, April 7 // 6 p.m. Saturday, April 8 // 1 p.m. |
| Location | Los Angeles, Calif. (Jackie Robinson Stadium) |
| Live Statistics | StatBroadcast Thursday // Friday // Saturday |
| Watch | UCLA Live Stream |
| Game Notes | Utah // UCLA // Pac-12 Conference |
| @UtahBaseball Social Media | Twitter // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes // #UteNotes |
The First Pitch: Things to Know
It's the second straight weekend that the Utah baseball team will tangle with a conference rival from Los Angeles, as the Utes head out on the road for a three-game series at No. 23 nationally-ranked UCLA and Jackie Robinson Stadium. Each series with Pac-12 teams this weekend runs from Thursday through Saturday with Easter weekend ahead.
- The Utes are looking to build on the finale of the team's series at home vs. USC last weekend; after a couple tough setbacks to begin the weekend, Utah claimed an 8-3 win over the Trojans last Sunday at Smith's Ballpark.
- Momentum swung into the Utah dugout with a four-run fourth inning, giving the Utes a 4-3 lead at that time and sparking a stretch of eight unanswered runs. TJ Clarkson homered twice on the night with both shots being measured at over 430 feet. Clarkson and Cop each went yard during the fourth inning of the game, highlighting four players that had multi-hit games.
- On the mound last Sunday, Merit Jones was the winner (2-1) and matched his longest start as a Ute, working into the seventh inning. He allowed three runs on five hits and three walks, striking out three batters. Blake Whiting and Zac McCleve then combined to retire nine Trojans in a row to end the ballgame.
- While the first two games vs. did not have the outcome Utah hoped for, Friday night's opener saw a strong start out of left-hander Ernesto Lugo-Canchola, allowing just one earned run (three total) in five innings. Cam Day took the Utes from there, dealing the final four innings in relief, striking out three against just one run allowed on four hits and a walk.
- The Utes were scheduled to host in-state foe Utah Tech on Tuesday, but Mother Nature had other ideas and the game was cancelled.
- Last year the Utes defeated No. 15 UCLA by a 7-6 score in the finale, and gave the Bruins great battles in the first two contests in SLC. Despite falling in a pair of one-run games to begin the series, Utah had the winning run at third base in the ninth inning on Friday night and the tying run at third on Saturday.
- Then on Sunday, a three-run seventh inning pushed the Utes in front for good, holding on for a 7-6 victory and snapping a 15-game losing streak against the Bruins. Landon Frei was 6-for-12 in the series with three RBI.
Checking the Numbers
- Utah enters the UCLA series with 32 stolen bases on the season; it trails only Cal (35) for the Pac-12 lead and surpasses the team's total of 31 bags swiped during the 2022 season.
- The Utah pitching staff is averaging 3.68 walks allowed per nine innings. That ranks No. 41 in the country of nearly 300 ranked teams.
- Cameron Gurney made it all the way to Friday, March 17, before being retired by strikeout for the first time. It ended a streak of his first 49 collegiate at bats without a 'K', and puts Gurney as the nation's top freshman when it comes to toughest players to strike out (with only five strikeouts on the season, he averages one every 15.8 at bats). He leads all players in the Pac-12 and ranks No. 12 of all players nationally.
- TJ Clarkson's eight home runs are three from Clarkson's long ball total from last season (11) and brings the redshirt junior to 22 homers in his career. Clarkson eclipsed 100 career hits during the Stanford series; it helped him run up an on-base streak to 20 games. It came after Clarkson ran up a streak of 38 straight games last season.
- Six-foot-seven lefty Micah Ashman earned his fifth save on March 21 vs. Northern Colorado. It is tied for the Pac-12 lead and No. 27 nationally.
- Landon Frei is not far behind Clarkson for the 100-hit milestone, sitting at 93 in his Utah career entering the UCLA series.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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