Upcoming Event: Baseball versus Vanderbilt on October 10, 2025 at 4 p.m.
4 p.m.
Baseball
vs Vanderbilt
Friday, March 14
Manhattan, Kan.
6 p.m.
University of Utah
11-6, 0-1
6
at
7
Kansas State
10-7, 1-0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Utah
1
0
0
0
0
3
0
2
0
6
10
1
Kansas State
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
3
7
9
0
Colter McAnelly struck out seven K-State batters but received a no-decision.
Utah Baseball Falls 7-6 to K-State in Big 12 Opener
3/14/2025 10:14 PM | Baseball
McAnelly worked into the eighth inning and struck out seven
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Utah starting pitcher Colter McAnelly came back out for the eighth inning and left in line for the win, but in the ninth Kansas State would rally to take the series opener by a 7-6 score on Friday night at Tointon Family Stadium.
It was Utah's first Big 12 Conference game as a member of the league and the Utes are now 11-6 overall.
McAnelly received a no-decision but struck out seven Wildcats against just one walk. Sixty-nine of his 103 pitches were strikes as he allowed four runs on five hits. Cameron Nielson (2-1) took the loss.
At the plate seven Utah combined for 10 hits, led by a 3-for-5 night for Tyler Quinn. Cleanup hitter Cameron Gurney singled and had two RBI, while Austen Roellig drove in three—two coming on his first collegiate home run. His homer extended Roellig's hitting streak to 11 straight games.
The game was originally slated for a 5 p.m. MT first pitch but was pushed back an hour due to a high wind warning. Winds reached over 30 MPH around Manhattan in the afternoon with gusts getting above 45 MPH.
One action got underway, Utah used an early two-out rally to strike first on the scoreboard. Quinn put a gapper of a double to right-center field, and on the very next pitch Gurney poked a single through the right side to give the team its first-ever run in a Big 12 Conference game.
The Wildcats answered with two runs in their half of the first but McAnelly kept calm, retiring a string of 16 batters in a row. It started with an RBI groundout in the first inning and continued into the sixth.
It was a similar story on the mound for the other side as Utah was held to just two baserunners between the second and fifth innings. Drake Digiorno worked a walk in the second and Santino Panaro legged out a two-out bunt single in the fifth, but both were stranded.
But things changed in the sixth as the Utes plated three runs and took a 4-2 lead. Matt Flaharty and Core Jackson each walked to begin the inning, then Quinn loaded the bases on a popped-up bunt that evaded the dive of the charging K-State third baseman. Gurney and Roellig followed up with hard-hit groundouts that each netted runs as the Wildcats made a call to the bullpen.
K-State put a double in the book with one out in the sixth, ending a streak of 16 straight batters sat down by McAnelly. A single and a sac fly followed for the Wildcats as the home club got back within 4-3.
Quinn, however, helped spark some insurance in the eighth with a leadoff single. Two batters later Roellig went yard via the center field camera platform. It brought the Utah lead to three runs at 6-3.
McAnelly returned for the eighth inning but the Utes went to the bullpen after the leadoff man reached. K-State would get a run back in the bottom of the eighth, then a leadoff double in the ninth and back-to-back homers gave the Wildcats the victory.
Next Up
Utah and the Wildcats will return to Tointon Family Stadium on Saturday for the middle contest of the teams' three-game series. It'll be a 3 p.m. MT first pitch with the matchup airing on ESPN+.
Buy Your Tickets! | Click Here
Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the entirety of Utah's 2025 home schedule at Smith's Ballpark. Priced at $30, season tickets offer fans the best bargain breaking down to less than $2 per game, while single-game tickets are available at $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
Fans can contact the Utah Athletics Ticket Office via phone with questions at (801) 581-8849.
Follow Utah Baseball
Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).
It was Utah's first Big 12 Conference game as a member of the league and the Utes are now 11-6 overall.
McAnelly received a no-decision but struck out seven Wildcats against just one walk. Sixty-nine of his 103 pitches were strikes as he allowed four runs on five hits. Cameron Nielson (2-1) took the loss.
At the plate seven Utah combined for 10 hits, led by a 3-for-5 night for Tyler Quinn. Cleanup hitter Cameron Gurney singled and had two RBI, while Austen Roellig drove in three—two coming on his first collegiate home run. His homer extended Roellig's hitting streak to 11 straight games.
The game was originally slated for a 5 p.m. MT first pitch but was pushed back an hour due to a high wind warning. Winds reached over 30 MPH around Manhattan in the afternoon with gusts getting above 45 MPH.
One action got underway, Utah used an early two-out rally to strike first on the scoreboard. Quinn put a gapper of a double to right-center field, and on the very next pitch Gurney poked a single through the right side to give the team its first-ever run in a Big 12 Conference game.
The Wildcats answered with two runs in their half of the first but McAnelly kept calm, retiring a string of 16 batters in a row. It started with an RBI groundout in the first inning and continued into the sixth.
It was a similar story on the mound for the other side as Utah was held to just two baserunners between the second and fifth innings. Drake Digiorno worked a walk in the second and Santino Panaro legged out a two-out bunt single in the fifth, but both were stranded.
But things changed in the sixth as the Utes plated three runs and took a 4-2 lead. Matt Flaharty and Core Jackson each walked to begin the inning, then Quinn loaded the bases on a popped-up bunt that evaded the dive of the charging K-State third baseman. Gurney and Roellig followed up with hard-hit groundouts that each netted runs as the Wildcats made a call to the bullpen.
K-State put a double in the book with one out in the sixth, ending a streak of 16 straight batters sat down by McAnelly. A single and a sac fly followed for the Wildcats as the home club got back within 4-3.
Quinn, however, helped spark some insurance in the eighth with a leadoff single. Two batters later Roellig went yard via the center field camera platform. It brought the Utah lead to three runs at 6-3.
McAnelly returned for the eighth inning but the Utes went to the bullpen after the leadoff man reached. K-State would get a run back in the bottom of the eighth, then a leadoff double in the ninth and back-to-back homers gave the Wildcats the victory.
Next Up
Utah and the Wildcats will return to Tointon Family Stadium on Saturday for the middle contest of the teams' three-game series. It'll be a 3 p.m. MT first pitch with the matchup airing on ESPN+.
Buy Your Tickets! | Click Here
Season and single-game tickets are on sale for the entirety of Utah's 2025 home schedule at Smith's Ballpark. Priced at $30, season tickets offer fans the best bargain breaking down to less than $2 per game, while single-game tickets are available at $10 for adults and $5 for youth.
Fans can contact the Utah Athletics Ticket Office via phone with questions at (801) 581-8849.
Follow Utah Baseball
Follow Utah baseball on social media (@utahbaseball).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Guyette, James (1-1)
L: Nielson, Cameron (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Quinn, Tyler 1 ; Carpenter, Kaden 1
3B: Flaharty, Matt 1
HR: Roellig, Austen 1
RBI: Gurney, Cameron 2 ; Roellig, Austen 3 ; Carpenter, Kaden 1
SH: Gurney, Cameron 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Flaharty, Matt 1 ; Jackson, Core 1 ; Quinn, Tyler 3 ; Roellig, Austen 1
SB: Jackson, Core 1
CS: Digiorno, Drake 1
HBP: Jackson, Core 1
Batting:
2B: Lodice, Kyan 1 ; Kennedy, Dee 1 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1
HR: Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1
RBI: Kennedy, Dee 1 ; Evasco, AJ 3 ; Inoue, Shintaro 2 ; Madliak, Bear 1
SF: Evasco, AJ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: English, Nick 1 ; Lodice, Kyan 2 ; O'Connor, Keegan 1 ; Inoue, Shintaro 1 ; Madliak, Bear 1 ; Bishop, David 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
3
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
INF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballINF
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INF
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