Big Fourth Inning Lifts K-State Over Utah Baseball

Friday, March 27

Salt Lake City, Utah

6 p.m.

University of Utah

13-10, 3-4

Kansas State

18-8, 18-8

Kansas State

Utah

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Big Fourth Inning Lifts K-State Over Utah Baseball

3/27/2026 10:08 PM | Baseball

Box Score

Arambula clubs first homer with Utah; Long extends hitting streak to 18 games

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah baseball team fell to Kansas State by an 8-5 score on Friday night in the series opener on Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark.

Utah (13-10, 3-4 Big 12) finished with nine hits but was unable to overcome a 6-0 deficit after the Wildcats pushed five runs across in the fourth inning.

Jet Gilliam led the Utes offensively with a 3-for-4 performance and two RBIs, while Daniel Arambula added a two-run homer for his first long ball at Utah. Jake Long contributed an RBI double, and Blake Eckerle doubled and scored a run.

Long's night extended his hitting streak to 18 straight games, the longest by a Utah player since Oliver Dunn strung together an 18-game streak during the 2019 season.

After a pair of scoreless innings to open the game, K-State broke through in the third with a solo home run to take an early 1-0 lead. The Wildcats extended their advantage in the fourth, stringing together a two-out rally and netting five runs along the way.

Utah threatened in the first inning, but was unable to capitalize after a leadoff double from Jacobs. The Utes continued to battle at the plate and broke through in the fifth.

Eckerle sparked the inning with a leadoff double before Long drove him in with an RBI double to left center.

Two batters later, Arambula delivered the biggest swing of the night for Utah, launching a two-run home run to left field to cut the deficit in half at 6-3. The blast from Arambula sailed 417 feet and extended his hitting streak to 15 games.

Kansas State added insurance in the later innings, scoring once in the seventh and again in the eighth to extend its lead to 8-3.

The Utes mounted a late push in the eighth inning. Bradley Navarro worked a walk and Nevan Noonan followed with a double to put two runners in scoring position. Gilliam then came through with a clutch two-run double to right center, trimming the deficit to 8-5.

Utah was unable to complete the comeback, however, as Kansas State held on in the ninth to secure the win.

Cameron Gurney will look to bounce back on Saturday as his 15-game hitting streak came to an end tonight.

On the mound, Colter McAnelly (2-4) took the loss despite seven strikeouts in a six-inning start. The Utah bullpen provided solid relief down the stretch, with Ian Culver and Anson McGorman combining to limit further damage and keep the Utes within striking distance.

Next Up
Utah will look to get back on track in game two of the series against Kansas State on Saturday, with first pitch at 2 p.m. MT inside America First Ballpark.

Utah will hold a Community Service Drive on Saturday. Fans can donate non-perishable food items, as well as new and gently-used clothing. Items will support the Feed U Pantry on campus as well as Volunteers of America and The Road Home.

Follow Utah Baseball
Keep up with the Utes by following @utahbaseball and by visiting www.UtahUtes.com. Download the Utah 360 app here.