Baseball Jets to Baylor as Big 12 Play Continues

Thursday, April 17

Waco, Texas

5:30 p.m.

University of Utah

Baylor

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Baseball Jets to Baylor as Big 12 Play Continues

4/16/2025 11:00 AM | Baseball

Utes look to build on series win over BYU

2025 Utah Baseball Game Notes
Games 33-35 Date // Time (MT)	Utah (15-17, 4-11 Big 12) at Baylor (22-13, 6-9 Big 12) Thursday, April 17 // 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 18 // 5:30 p.m. Saturday, April 19 // Noon
Location	Waco, Texas (Baylor Ballpark)
Live Statistics	StatBroadcast
Watch	ESPN+
Game Notes	Utah // Baylor (available shortly) // Big 12 Conference
@UtahBaseball Social Media	Twitter/X // Instagram // Facebook // #GoUtes // #UteNotes

The First Pitch: Things to Know
Winners in back-to-back conference games over in-state rival BYU, the Utah baseball team heads out to Baylor this weekend and looks to build momentum in another crucial Big 12 series. The three-game set runs Thursday through Saturday at Baylor Ballpark.

Utah fell in a 9-8 heartbreaker to BYU in the series opener last Thursday, but bounced back with a 6-4 triumph in the middle game and a 9-6 victory in the rubber match. Merit Jones was key with a six-inning start and eight strikeouts as Utah evened up the series. Easton Jones and Dylan Gazaway each chipped in three innings on the mound in the finale, while Kaden Carpenter broke the game open with a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
At the plate, third baseman Austen Roellig went 5-for-10 in the series with five RBI as his hitting streak was extended to 10 straight games. Santino Panaro went 6-for-9 with a triple, raising his batting average by 35 points. But his defensive prowess shined even more with a snow cone catch in the series opener that was featured on SportsCenter Top 10.
The Utah-BYU series was a conference matchup for the first time since 2011. The combined series attendance of 6,460 was the highest since 2002 for a league series between the clubs.
Utah won the only known game against Baylor; it came during the 2011 season and was a 4-3 victory for the Utes. The No. 16-ranked Bears took an early 2-0 lead but Utah rallied with a pair of two-spots in the middle innings to take the lead for good.
Shortstop Core Jackson has been a mainstay of the Utah offense in his two seasons with the club. A .377 hitter since arriving in SLC, Jackson this season owns a .400 batting average, 13 doubles, seven home runs, 28 RBI and 39 runs scored—all team bests. In addition, infielder Austen Roellig (.362), outfielder Kaden Carpenter (.303), infielder Tyler Quinn (.302) and outfielder Santino Panaro (.301) are each hitting over .300.
Both Jackson (third) and Roellig (10^th) are top-10 in the Big 12 in batting average. Entering Wednesday's games, Utah is the only school in the league to have multiple players in the top-10 in that category.
Jackson's 13 doubles also place him fourth in the Big 12 Conference and are among Utah's team total of 83. The team tally is the second-highest in the league and ranks top-15 nationally.
Both Jackson and right-handed pitcher Colter McAnelly were included on the midseason position rankings released by D1Baseball.com. Jackson was listed as the No. 13 shortstop in the country and McAnelly checked in as the No. 32-ranked starting pitcher.
Roellig has enjoyed a nice turnaround since the second weekend of the season; he went 3-for-16 in Utah's first series at Pepperdine but quickly flipped the script and has hit .385 in the 28 games since then with 11 doubles and 24 RBI.
Now members of the Big 12 Conference, the league is Utah's fifth affiliation since resuming varsity baseball in 1948. Previously, the Utes have played in the Skyline Conference (1948-62), WAC (1963-99), Mountain West (2000-2011) and Pac-12 Conference (2012-24). Since joining the WAC, Utah has won five conference championships, most recently in 2016 as a member of the Pac-12.
Once back in the Beehive State, the Utes will prepare for a midweek matchup at Utah Valley on Tuesday, April 22.