Baseball squad gearing up for another National Championship
By Curtis Lundstrom
sports senior writer
Back in May while students were diving into summer, players on the Utah State club baseball team were concluding a historic season — a season that saw the Aggies win conference, region and national championships.
“Big doesn’t come close to describing it,” said USU head coach Norm Doyle. “It was a huge season for us. We put together what I felt was the best team we’ve ever assembled talent wise, but it takes more than talent to win something like this. It takes a group of guys that are dedicated and want to work together. All that came together at the right time.”
After dropping an early conference matchup to in-state rival Weber State, the Aggies went on to win 14-straight games to bring home the hardware, beating the four top-ranked teams in the country along the way.
Behind solid pitching and defense, Utah State outscored its opponents 36-6 during the regional tournament and 28-7 during the World Series in Georgia. An Aggie pitching trio, including Kyle Durrant, Rob Garrett and Jarren Tyler, combined to allow five earned runs in four games while the defense made play after play that Coach Doyle said were “ESPN highlights.”
“The guys had a bit of a swagger,” Doyle said. “They weren’t intimidated by anyone. The defense was the best I’ve ever seen. Just play after play, not just routine plays but really difficult plays. We were turning double plays, making over-the-shoulder catches, throwing runners out, just making ESPN highlight plays.”
Sporting a 15-man roster, Utah State disproved pre-tournament predictions that the Aggies would be the first team eliminated. Behind a complete game from Durrant, USU topped No. 2 ranked San Diego 9-3 to set up a matchup with No. 1 ranked Georgia in the Bulldogs backyard.
Riding on the confidence of an 11-game winning streak, the Aggies shut out the top-ranked team 3-0 to advance to the semi-finals.
Doyle said the defense turned the tide against the Bulldogs, who boasted the nation’s leader in stolen bases.
“The kid got on base in the first inning,” Dolye said. “He tried to steal second base, our catcher threw him out and it wasn’t even close. He got on base two more times and never once attempted anything. They just shut him down.”
With victories over the top two teams under their belts, the Aggies played an instant classic against No. 3 ranked Texas Tech. After the Red Raiders struck first in the fifth inning, Utah State answered right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at one.
An inning later, Doyle opted to bring in Tyler to relief pitch, and Tyler gave the Aggies a pitching performance for the ages. Neither defense would budge, and 10 innings later Tyler was still on the mound in a 1-1 deadlock.
In the 16th inning, the Aggies finally broke through.
After a leadoff single by Brett Jensen, back-to-back batters failed in sacrifice bunt attempts, bringing 5th-year senior Jake Bartholomew to the plate with two outs and Jensen stuck at first.
“It came with a bit of luck,” Doyle said. “Both hitters were excellent bunters, but weren’t able to get it done. I put the steal on, and Jake hit a loop line drive down the right field line. I held Brett up at third base, but the right fielder’s throw home hit an umpire and trickled away. From there it was just a footrace, and we came away with the win.”
The win gave the Aggies a birth in the national title game against Colorado State, who Doyle called the “New York Yankees” of club baseball. In the 12 seasons since the National Club Baseball Association began, the Rams have won six national titles and appeared in the national tournament 11 times.
Somebody forgot to tell Utah State.
The Aggies struck early and often throughout the winner-take-all contest, and the Rams were unable to muster any offense. USU jumped out to a 14-0 lead through seven innings before Colorado State finally got on the board.
After winning the first game of the tournament, Durrant pitched a complete game to earn the win, and was named the World Series MVP.
“It’s a definitely a dream,” Durrant said. “Anyone of our guys could have won it. I didn’t want to let the guys down. It was fantastic. And to win a national title at the collegiate level is one of the greatest feelings in the world in sports.”
With 11 of the 15 team members returning — including Durrant — Doyle said the Aggies are just getting started. Returning players have high hopes for the 2012-13 season, which begins Sept. 8 against USU Eastern. Tryouts for this year’s 30-man squad will be held Sept. 5-6 starting at 5 p.m.
Tryouts are open to anyone and will be held at Providence Field, located at 200 W 100 N in Providence, Utah. There is a cost of $25.
“Anything less than another trip to Georgia would be unacceptable,” Durrant said. “We’re excited for tryouts next week. With guys coming back and some good guys coming in, we’re going to be a big threat again, and not as an underdog this time.”
– curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu.edu
@curtislundstrom