Utah Splits Doubleheader at Cal Poly

Sunday, March 3

San Luis Obispo, CA

2:00 PM

University of Utah

9-1

Cal Poly

2-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Utah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	6	2
Cal Poly	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Utah	0	0	2	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	7	1
Cal Poly	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	12	1

Kai Roberts' three-run double broke a scoreless tie in the eighth inning of Game 1 on Sunday

3/3/2024 9:58 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Winning streak comes to an end at nine games, the team’s longest since 1997

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Utah Baseball team split a doubleheader at Cal Poly on Sunday, defeating the Mustangs 4-0 in the opener before the home club walked off with a 4-3 victory in the nightcap at Baggett Stadium.

Utah now has a 9-2 record on the season. The loss in game two was the team's first since February 16 and snapped its nine-game winning streak, the longest for the Utes since 1997.

Kai Roberts extended his hitting streak to 10 games, his longest since the 2021 season. Core Jackson and Bruer Webster each wrapped up the doubleheader reaching base in nine straight games as well.

Game 1
Utah 4, Cal Poly 0
The Utes broke a scoreless deadlock in the top of the eighth inning—thanks entirely to a two-out rally—plating four runs that proved to be the difference. Five of the team's six hits in the game came during the eighth, capped off by a three-run double for Kai Roberts and an RBI single off the bat of Tyler Quinn. It marked Roberts' second three-RBI game in as many days.

Jaden Harris (1-0) picked up the win thanks to two shutout innings out of the bullpen. Lefty Micah Ashman entered with a 4-0 lead in the ninth, but inherited the tying run on deck and nobody out before a grounder, strikeout and fly ball earned Ashman his second save of the season.

Starter and fellow southpaw Bryson Van Sickle did not allow a run in six innings of work, scattering five hits and a pair of walks while striking out two. But he received a no-decision, departing the game when it was still scoreless.

Utah had its first baserunner when Roberts reached on a Mustangs error in the fourth inning. He moved into scoring position but was stranded at second base.

Van Sickle and the Utah defense did a nice job to escape jams in both the third and fourth innings. In the fourth, Cal Poly put runners at second and third with one out. Van Sickle answered with a strikeout, then Alejandro Garza's can-of-corn to Roberts in center field ended the frame.

The Utes finally broke the ice in the eighth with a four-run frame—entirely with two-out magic. Kaden Carpenter gave the club a spark with a single through the right side and Bruer Webster followed up with a base hit to center field. Core Jackson was next up and hit a grounder to the first base side, but hustled down the line and slid head-first to beat the Mustangs' pitcher on a bang-bang play at the bag.

That set the stage for Roberts, who battled through a seven-pitch at bat before going opposite-field for a double off the left field wall. It scored Jackson, Webster and pinch runner Matt Flaharty, before Quinn snuck a single through the third baseman for an RBI single to bring in Roberts and swell the lead to 4-0.

Ashman came on after a pair of Mustangs singles to open the ninth, making it a save situation since the tying run was on deck.

Game 2
Cal Poly 4, Utah 3
The Utes eliminated a 3-0 deficit by the sixth inning, but the lone run the rest of the game went to the Mustangs as a Joe Yorke single in the ninth brought in the winning run for Cal Poly.

Core Jackson went 2-for-4, walked and scored out of the leadoff spot, while Drake Digiorno went 2-for-3 and walked as well. Jackson and Kai Roberts each doubled in the game, with the latter now owning a team-best six doubles on the season.

Six Utes saw action on the mound, with starter Brett Porthan going four innings and striking out five. Ultimately Jackson Elder (1-1) received the loss.

Cal Poly scored in the home half of the first and added two more runs in the second inning. But the Utes cut the deficit to 3-2 in their half of the third when TJ Clarkson was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Michael Davinni logged an RBI groundout to score Bruer Webster.

That score remained until the sixth. Karson Bodily reached on a one-out single, stole second and made it to third on Drake Digiorno's base hit. He would score when Hunter Antillon lifted a sac fly to right field.

The Utes had a chance to pull in front in the seventh with runners at the corners and one out. But the Mustangs responded by inducing a pop up and fly ball to get out of the inning.

Then after stretch time, Bransen Kuehl and the Utes worked harmlessly out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam. An error to begin the inning put a runner on second for Cal Poly, then a walk and hit batsman loaded the bases. Kuehl responded by inducing a fly ball to Clarkson in right field, before a grounder to Digiorno at first began a 3-2-3 inning-ending double play.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Mustangs led off with a single and hit batsman, before a sac bunt put men in scoring position. The Utes intentionally walked the next batter to set up a double play that would force extra innings, but that was not in the cards as Yorke singled for Cal Poly to end the game.

Next Up
With Spring Break underway for the Utes, the team will remain in California these next few days and turn its attention to a Tuesday night matchup at Santa Clara. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. MT inside Stephen Schott Stadium.

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