SAN DIEGO – Reigning Big 12 Co-Pitcher of the Week
Colter McAnelly put on another strong performance, tossing seven innings of shutout ball with a career-high 10 strikeouts as the Utah baseball team defeated San Diego State 8-0 on Friday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Utah (5-0) combined for 13 strikeouts between McAnelly and
Lucas Boesen, while McAnelly made it to the seventh inning before allowing a walk or an Aztecs runner to reach third base. His 10 K's were the most by a Utah pitcher since the 2022 season as the Wyoming native earned his first win of the year.
McAnelly and Boesen retired the leadoff batter in all nine innings and held SDSU to just four hits on the night. McAnelly recorded his first seven outs by punchout—four looking. Boesen came on for the eighth inning and fanned three, including to end the ballgame.
Meanwhile, it was a total team effort at the plate for the Utah offense which belted out 14 hits—seven of which were doubles. It was the fourth straight game that the Utes had 12 or more hits while the club's seven doubles were the most since tying the program record (9) in a March 2022 game at UNLV.
Eight different Utes reached base safely, led by
Kaden Carpenter's 4-for-4 night with four RBI and two doubles. It was his first four-hit game at Utah and first with multiple doubles. Including his line, five different Utes had multi-hit contributions.
Jake Long had two doubles as well.
The performance of Utah's bats with two outs could not be overstated in this game; the Utes were 7-for-16 in those situations and drove in six of their eight runs.
The timely hitting came through right away in the first inning.
Matt Flaharty and
Core Jackson were retired to begin the ballgame, but
Tyler Quinn kicked off the rally with a single. Long followed with a walk before Carpenter poked a single through the 5-6 hole to score Quinn with the game's first run.
After two quick outs again to open the third inning, Long whacked the first of back-to-back doubles, scoring when Carpenter sent one of his own to left field.
Derek Smith led off the fourth inning with a base hit, then after a pair of groundouts, the lineup turned back over to Flaharty who singled through the right side to score Smith from second base. It extended the Utah lead to 3-0 after four innings.
Utah broke things open in the fifth inning with a three-spot and sent nine men to bat. Carpenter walked after the frame began with two strikeouts, then stole second base to get into scoring position.
Austen Roellig then laced a 2-2 pitch down the right field line as Carpenter came in to score. Roellig himself would then steal second and score, thanks to Smith's second double of the season.
With the Utah lead now 5-0, the Aztecs made a call to the bullpen. When play resumed,
Santino Panaro worked a seven-pitch walk and
Zakye Hawkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Flaharty came back up and walked on four pitches, scoring Smith with another insurance run.
Utah closed out the scoring with one run apiece in the sixth and eighth innings. Carpenter knocked in Long with a single in the sixth, then doubled in the eighth to score Quinn.
Flaharty, Carpenter and Quinn have hit safely in all five games this season.
Core Jackson had a 12-game hitting streak (dating back to last season) come to an end tonight but will look to get back on track in Saturday's game against Seattle.
Next Up
The Utah baseball team continues the Tony Gwynn Legacy series on Saturday with a game against Seattle inside Tony Gwynn Stadium. First pitch is at 2 p.m. MT.
Saturday's game will not be streamed, but keep an eye on the @utahbaseball social media accounts for a steady stream of updates.
Follow Utah Baseball
Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).