SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah baseball team scored eight runs in the seventh and eighth innings en route to an 11-5 win over Oregon on Saturday afternoon.
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Down 5-3 after six innings, Utah scored three runs in the seventh to take the lead – with
Wade Gulden's two-run home run pushing the Utes ahead – and added five insurance runs in the eighth inning.
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Utah was led at the plate by
Dallas Carroll, who went 4-for-5 on the day.
DaShawn Keirsey, Jr.,
Josh Rose,
Ellis Kelly and Gulden each had a pair of hits.
Hunter Simmons and Gulden drove in two runs each.
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On the mound,
Riley Ottesen pitched eight innings, allowing five runs on five hits and four walks with five strikeouts. He raises his record to 4-1 with the win.
Spencer Kevin Johnson threw the final inning.
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Oregon took an early 3-0 lead in the first inning after a pair of singles followed by a three-run home run.
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Utah scored its first run of the game in the bottom of the first to make the score 3-1.
Oliver Dunn walked and Carroll hit a bouncing single that just went over a leaping third baseman. An error on a failed pickoff attempt moved both runners over and Dunn scored on a wild pitch.
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Utah stranded two in the fourth as Gulden walked and Rose singled to put two on before a fly out ended the inning.
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Oregon added two runs in the top of the fifth with the help of a single, a hit batter and three walks for a 5-1 lead.
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Utah came back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on four hits to cut the lead to 5-3. Kelly hit a leadoff single in the inning and Keirsey also singled to put runners at the corners. Kelly scored on a ground out for the first run of the game. Carroll followed with a single and a sacrifice fly led to the second run of the inning. Gulden also singled before a pickoff at third got the Ducks out of the inning.
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The Utes pulled ahead in the seventh, rallying with two outs. Carroll hit a double to left center and scored on a single from
Hunter Simmons. Gulden put the cap on the inning with a two-run home run to right field, his second homer of the season, giving Utah a 6-5 lead. The Utes added insurance runs in the eighth after
Chandler Anderson was hit by a pitch and Kelly and Keirsey hit back-to-back triples. Keirsey scored on a wild pitch. Dunn walked and Carroll added another triple to send home a fourth run of the inning, while Carroll scored the inning's fifth run on an error on a ground ball.
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Utah honored last year's Pac-12 Championship team in a pregame ceremony, raising a flag in left field to commemorate the championship.
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The Utes and Ducks play game three of the series on Sunday, April 2, at 1:00 p.m. MT (the game was rescheduled from Thursday due to rain). A video stream will be available at
http://pac-12.com/live/university-utah.
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