Opening Weekend Sends Utah Baseball to Pepperdine, CBU

Friday, February 16

Malibu, CA

2:30 PM

University of Utah

Pepperdine

Photo by: Sophia Kuder

Opening Weekend Sends Utah Baseball to Pepperdine, CBU

2/15/2024 2:00 PM | Baseball

Utes will spend Friday and Saturday in Malibu before Sunday matchup in Riverside

2024 Utah Baseball Game Notes
Games 1-4 Date // Time (MT)	Utah at Pepperdine // Friday, Feb. 16 (2:30 p.m. MT) Utah vs. California Baptist // Saturday, Feb. 17 (11 a.m. MT) Utah at Pepperdine // Saturday, Feb. 17 (3 p.m. MT) Utah at California Baptist // Sunday, Feb. 18 (1 p.m. MT)
Location	Friday/Saturday: Malibu, Calif. (Eddy D. Field Stadium) Sunday: Riverside, Calif. (James W. Totman Stadium)
Live Statistics	Friday: at Pepperdine Saturday: vs. CBU // at Pepperdine Sunday: at CBU
Watch	ESPN+ (Friday; Saturday game 2 only; Sunday)
Game Notes	Utah // Pac-12 Weekly Release
@UtahBaseball Social Media	Twitter/X // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes // #UteNotes

The First Pitch: Things to Know
A brand new season of Utah Baseball gets underway this weekend, and the first road trip of the 2024 campaign will send the Utes to the Golden State as the team plays a pair of games each against Pepperdine and California Baptist. ESPN+ will have live broadcast coverage of all four games this weekend.

Head coach Gary Henderson's club will spend Friday and Saturday at Pepperdine's Eddy D. Field Stadium in Malibu, with the schedule including a pair of games with the Waves. The docket for Saturday also includes a neutral-site game against CBU, with first pitch slated for 11 a.m. MT.
Then on Sunday, the Utes will head over to Riverside for a rematch with the Lancers inside James W. Totman Stadium.
This weekend will mark the first meetings between the Utes and California Baptist. Utah and Pepperdine have met on the diamond just twice in the programs' recorded history; both contests went to the Waves in 1962 and 1990.
The Utes welcome back an array of experience from the 2023 season while adding a talented crop of newcomers to the '24 club. Pac-12 Preseason All-Conference selection TJ Clarkson is among the headliners in the lineup, coming off a redshirt junior year that saw Clarkson start all 55 games, primarily in the outfield. He reset career-highs in every major offensive category including batting average (.301), slugging (.628), on-base percentage (.464), runs scored (56), hits (59), doubles (18), home runs (14), RBI (45) and walks (48).
In addition, Clarkson's 14 dingers were the most by a Ute in the Pac-12 era (dating back to the 2012 baseball season) and most since C.J. Cron's 15 blasts back in 2011.
D1Baseball.com currently lists Clarkson as the No. 39-ranked Pac-12 prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft.
NCBWA Preseason All-American Micah Ashman leads the charge out of the bullpen, coming off an outstanding sophomore year for the southpaw. Ashman, who grew up in nearby Sandy, Utah, had nine saves a year ago and enters the new season on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List. He is ranked by D1Baseball.com as the preseason No. 23 prospect in the Pac-12 for the 2024 MLB Draft.
All told, the Utes welcome 21 newcomers to the squad, with nine pitchers and 12 position players included.
Utah will look to make up for the offensive production of Jayden Kiernan, who graduated following the 2023 season. Kiernan (.402) finished just two points short of the Pac-12 regular season batting title and capped his time as a Ute with a .346 career batting average. The latter ranks in the top-10 at Utah dating back to 1996.
The Utes had three pitchers sign UDFA contracts following the '23 season as well. Right-hand submariner Zac McCleve went to the Tampa Bay Rays organization, and fellow righties Cam Day (LA Dodgers) and Blake Whiting (Milwaukee) also signed professional contracts.
McCleve reset the program career record for appearances (107) and ranks top-three all-time with 12 career saves. He boasted 9.04 strikeouts per nine innings, the second-most of any Utah pitcher since 1996 (minimum 100 innings pitched).