At 6 p.m. MT, the Utah baseball team will open its home slate against Utah Valley University. The Utes have won four of their last five games, winning back-to-back series in their Pac-12 opener against Arizona and against Big 12 opponent Kansas. The Utes rallied from seven runs down to win the third game of the series against the Wildcats.
"We're starting to play a little better," Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg said. "We had the ball bounce our way yesterday, and that was a welcome sight, being on the road. It shows that guys not giving up in a game that we easily could have, and it shows character. Hopefully we take that and build on it and continue to play well and continue to play hard, and that's what I expect tomorrow night. We want to continue what we're doing, continue getting better, and making sure we're taking care of business on Tuesdays and getting ourselves ready for the weekend series."
The Utes are slated to start sophomore Dylan Drachler on the mound, who will be making his first career start for the Utes.
"Fatigue in pitching is a challenge for Tuesday games," Kinneberg said. "Those nine innings are really hard, to make sure your bullpen is ready and not wear them out so that you are strong on the weekend, but [Tuesday games] are a necessary evil and another opportunity to get better."
Utah Valley is 4-15 on the season. The Wolverines are coming off a 1-3 weekend at Creighton.
The Utes continue on the road this weekend to face UCLA, which is ranked as high as seventh in the nation by the NCBWA.
Fans in attendance will receive a Utah baseball schedule magnet. The Utes also continue their season-long baseball card promotion, with different players featured each game culminating in a full set by the end of the season. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a Dylan Drachler and Kellen Marruffo baseball card.