SALT LAKE CITY – Behind the arm of
Josh Lapiana on the mound and 13 runs on 15 hits at the plate, the Utah baseball team earned a 13-1 win over Oregon on Sunday evening, giving the Utes their first Pac-12 series win of the season.
The game got underway after a three-hour rain delay and Utah (12-13, 3-6 Pac-12) held a 5-0 lead through the first two innings, added a run in the fourth and burst ahead with six runs in the seventh.
Lapiana had a career-high nine strikeouts, allowing one run on six hits on the day. He allowed zero walks and goes to 2-3 on the season.
Dominic Foscalina went 3-for-3 at the plate while
DaShawn Keirsey, Jr.,
Dallas Carroll,
Hunter Simmons,
Wade Gulden and
Zack Moeller all had two hits. Gulden drove in three runs on the day. Keirsey hit a two-run home run.
Utah took a quick 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Keirsey walked to lead off the inning and scored on an RBI double from Carroll. Simmons and Gulden also had RBI singles in the inning.
Keirsey hit a two-run home run in the second to give Utah a 5-0 advantage. Moeller led off the fourth with a double and after moving to third on a passed ball, scored on a sacrifice fly from Foscalina, giving Utah a 6-0 lead.
Oregon got on the board in the seventh. A single deep to short to lead off the inning led to a run after an RBI triple, cutting Utah's lead to 6-1.
The Utes continued to add insurance runs in the seventh inning with six runs on five hits for a 12-1 lead. Foscalina and
Ellis Kelly singled, leading to Foscalina scoring on a wild pitch. Gulden hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded, Moeller hit an RBI single and
Josh Rose also sent two runners in with a two-RBI single. In the eighth, Foscalina led off the inning with a single and scored on an RBI single from Carroll.
Utah hits the road next weekend to face No. 1 Oregon State with the three-game series beginning on Friday, April 7, at 5:35 p.m. PT.