Cougars, Utes to play two exhibition games

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball will feature its 2022 team in two fall exhibition games versus the University of Utah.

Game one of the two-game series is scheduled to be played at Smith’s Ballpark in Salt Lake City on Friday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. The Cougars will then host the Utes at Miller Park on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. in Provo. Admission is free to both games.

BYU is coming off a 23-27 season that started slow with a young team, but finished on a high note as the Cougars went 11-4 in their last 15 games. The strong finish included series wins over the last four WCC opponents, including a series victory on the road versus perennial conference powerhouse San Diego. The 2021 season also featured wins over No. 19 ranked Texas and Pac-12 opponents Arizona State and Utah. 

The 2022 squad returns five starters who received post-season honors in 2021, including Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American Andrew Pintar, who was the WCC Co-Freshman of the Year and first-team All-WCC. Senior centerfielder Mitch McIntyre and junior right fielder Cole Gambill were named to the WCC second team, while junior pitcher Reid McLaughlin and sophomore pitcher Carter Smith were named honorable mention.

The Cougars are led by head coach Mike Littlewood, who enters his 10th season. In eight full seasons at the helm, he has built BYU into perennial contenders in the West Coast Conference, winning three conference titles (2019, 2017, 2016) while leading the program back to the NCAA Tournament.

Utah is coming off a 17-33 season and a 10th-place finish in the Pac-12. The Utes are led by first-year head coach Gary Henderson, who replaced long-time coach Bill Kinneberg when he retired at the end of the 2021 season.

Both exhibition games versus Utah will be broadcast live on the BYU Cougars app and BYUCougars.com. Game two at BYU will also be broadcast locally on BYU Radio FM 107.9. Jason Shepherd and Tuckett Slade will be on the call for both games.