BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - Behind 20 hits and a seven-run ninth inning, the Utah baseball team won its rubber match against CSU Bakersfield, 15-3, on Sunday afternoon.
Utah (2-1) scored two runs in the second, a run in the fourth and three runs on the fifth for a 6-0 lead before CSUB got on the board in the fifth. The Utes led 8-3 going into the seven-run ninth inning.
Dallas Carroll led Utah at the plate, going 4-for-6 with two RBI. Six Utes had multiple hits while five Utes had multiple RBI, including
Chandler Anderson with three RBI on the day.
Josh Lapiana got the win on the mound, throwing five innings and allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts. Josh Tedeschi,
Chase Bauerle and
Dylan Drachler also pitched in the late innings.
Utah took a 2-0 lead in the second inning as
Josh Rose walked and
Wade Gulden doubled to set up an Anderson RBI single.
Alex Isola also drove in a run on a ground out. The Utes increased their lead in the fourth with an RBI single from Isola after Gulden singled to reach base.
Utah added three runs in the fifth with the help of an error and a wild pitch after
Oliver Dunn and Carroll singled to lead off the inning.
The Roadrunners had four hits in the fifth to score a run, stranding the bases loaded as Lapiana got a strikeout to end the inning, and two hits to lead off the sixth following a pitching change also led to a run on a sacrifice fly, putting Utah's lead at 6-2.
Utah increased its lead to 8-2 in the eighth inning with two runs. Carroll and Rose each had RBI doubles in the inning. CSUB cut into the Utes lead in the eighth with a run on two hits.
The Utes broke the game open in the ninth, scoring seven runs on six hits while also taking advantage of an error. Highlights of the inning included RBI doubles from Dunn, Carroll, Rose and Anderson as well as an RBI single from
Dominic Foscalina.
Utah returns to the field on Thursday, Feb. 23, facing Ohio State and Nebraska in the Pac-12/Big 10 Challenge in Surprise, Ariz.