Arizona Baseball falls to Utah, loses series against the Utes

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Despite taking game one, No. 20 Arizona Baseball (24-12, 11-7) fell to Utah (20-14-1, 7-8) in the final two games. 

It was a great start this weekend for Arizona Baseball as the Wildcats took game one against the Utes by a 7-6 final. However, it was inconsistent pitching that doomed Arizona in this one as the Wildcats dropped game two and game three, ultimately falling to the Utes.

Once again, Arizona’s bats were just fine in this series, plating 16 runs in three games, getting big contributions from guys like Chase Davis, Tanner O’Tremba, Mac Bingham, and Nik McClaughry among others.

However, the bigger story here was the pitching. It has doomed Arizona several times already this one, and once again, the Wildcats could not keep their opponent from scoring, surrendering 26 runs over the three games.

Despite looking like a strong team in game one, Arizona Baseball lost their second-straight Pac-12 road series.

Game 2:

Turning to Garrett Irvin in game two, the Wildcats’ ace would have a tough time in this one, surrendering three runs on four hits over the first three innings of play before Anthony Susac would replace him.

Unfortunately, Susac would also get roughed up as well, giving up five runs on five hits in just an inning and a third pitched.

Because of Arizona’s pitching struggles, the Cats would fall behind 8-3 after the first five innings of play.

Daniel Susac, Bingham, and O’Tremba would go a combined 7-13 from the plate with five RBIs. However, it wouldn’t be enough in this one as Utah would ultimately cruise to the 9-5 win.

Game 3:

Turning to Chandler Murphy in game three to hopefully close out the series with a win, the Wildcats’ righty starter would have a day I’m sure he would like to forget.

Lasting just two and two-thirds innings, Murphy would be roughed early and often, surrendering eight runs on seven hits.

Arizona would use a myriad of different relief pitchers in this one, and despite Arizona holding the Utes to just three runs over the final six-plus innings of play, it would be too much for the Wildcats to overcome, falling to Utah by an 11-4 final to drop the three-game series.

Where does Arizona Baseball go from here?

With the losses, Arizona falls to 24-12 (11-7) on the year and will return to action on Monday when they take on Creighton for a two-game series in Omaha. The Wildcats will then follow that up with a three-game homestand against Arizona State next weekend.