Baseball swept by Weber State
Utah State’s club baseball team hit a “road” bump last weekend, getting swept on the road by rival Weber State.
In the first game of the series, the Wildcats picked up an 8-7 victory, then squeaked past a stellar pitching performance by the Aggies’ Greg Ladd for a 3-2 win in the second. WSU then rounded out the series by pounding out a 13-3 win in the finale.
“[Weber] hit the ball hard all weekend,” said Aggie Head Coach Ernie Rivers. “We swung the bats OK but we didn’t get guys in when they were in scoring position.”
The losses put the Aggies in the position of having to win eight out of their next nine games or claim the wild card spot in order to advance to regionals.
Utah State had taken three of four the previous weekend and had hoped for a better showing against the team they lost last year’s conference championship to.
Now the Aggies have their backs to the wall in their quest to make regionals.
“They know they’re kind of in a corner,” Rivers said. “You don’t want to put them under so much pressure they’re trying too hard. I don’t think anybody has to tell them how important the games are.”
The Aggies head to Boise State this weekend for two Friday games and a Saturday game against the Broncos.
USU’s Sean Maynard continued his solid season by going 6-for-11 on the weekend. Junior Chris Gorrell matched his performance by going 6-for-11 as well.
Tyler Al-Imari’s grand slam in the first game didn’t quite put USU over the top against its traditional rivals.
Ladd pitched well in the second game of the series, striking out nine over six innings in which he gave up five hits and two earned runs. But it wasn’t quite enough for the Aggies.
“[Ladd] had a great outing,” Rivers said. “It’s disappointing we couldn’t get the win for him.”
The third game was another disappointment.
“They just found a way to win the first two games,” Rivers said. “[That] may have taken a little out of us [in the third].”
Defensive struggles also cost the Aggies in the series.
“We’ve got a young team so we’re still with communication, hitting the cutoffs, things like that,” Rivers said.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu