SALT LAKE CITY – A ninth-inning rally fell short for the Utah baseball team as the Utes fell to UC Riverside, 6-2, to even the series at 1-1.
Down 6-1 entering the ninth inning, Hunter Simmons and Zack Moeller hit back-to-back one-out singles and Wade Gulden followed with an RBI double to left center. With the tying run on deck, UC Riverside got a fly out and strike out to end the game.
Simmons and Dallas Carroll led Utah at the plate, as Simmons went 3-for-4 while Carroll was 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch. Gulden drove in both of Utah’s runs.
Riley Ottesen threw 7 1/3 innings on the mound in the loss, allowing six runs (five earned) on nine hits with seven strikeouts. Trenton Stoltz pitched 1 2/3 shutout innings, allowing two hits with a walk and a strikeout.
UC Riverside scored three runs in the second inning off four hits, including a two-RBI double, to take an early lead. The Highlanders pulled ahead to 4-0 with a run off of two hits in the sixth inning, and a hit batter and single led to a run on a ground out in the seventh for a 5-0 advantage.
The Utes had just one hit through six innings before breaking through to put a run up in the seventh inning. Carroll and Simmons hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning. Carroll moved to third on a fly out, and beat out a throw home on an infield ground ball from Gulden. The Utes would strand two on base in the inning.
The Highlanders continued to pull ahead in the eighth with an unearned run following a hit batter, error and walk for a 6-1 lead before the Utes rallied in the ninth.
A quick turnaround for Utah and UC Riverside, as the teams play the rubber match on Saturday, May 6, at 11:30 a.m.
