Cougars face rival Utah at Smith's Ballpark on Tuesday

PROVO, Utah — BYU baseball is on the road again this week, with a stop in Salt Lake City for a single game versus rival Utah on Tuesday, March 15, before heading to Portland, Oregon, to kickoff West Coast Conference play with Portland. The weekend series with the Pilots (11-4) is scheduled for March 17-19 at Joe Etzel Field. 

The non-conference game on Tuesday versus Utah (11-3) will be played at Smith’s Ballpark with the first pitch at 6:05 p.m. MDT. The game will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Digital Network, and broadcast by the BYU Radio Network on FM 107.9, BYUCougars.com and the BYU Cougars app. Live stats are available on Statbroadcast.com.

The Tuesday evening game is the first in a series of three games between the rival schools during the 2022 season. The other two games are scheduled for April 19 in Salt Lake City and May 17 in Provo. 

PREVIOUS WEEK RECAP
The Cougars (8-5) head north to take on the Utes having just returned from a three-game neutral site series at Globe Life Field with No. 6 ranked Oklahoma State in Arlington Texas. The series, originally scheduled for Miller Park in Provo, was moved to the new home of the Texas Rangers due to inclement weather and cold temperatures in Provo. 

BYU took game one of the series with a bases-loaded, two-out grand slam in the fifth inning by Ryan Sepede. The junior from Las Vegas, came off the bench and deposited a fastball into the left-field seats to pace BYU to an 8-6 victory over the Cowboys. BYU dropped game two of the series in a 3-0 pitching duel on Friday, and lost the rubber match the next day 8-5. 

Utah is coming off a mid-week road win over Fresno State, 5-4, followed by a 2-1 series win over Pac-12 foe Washington in Salt Lake City. Against the Huskies, Utah overcame a game-one 6-3 loss to win game two 7-6 and game three 3-1. 

RIVALRY SERIES HISTORY
The Cougars and Utes have previously met 372 times in baseball since 1948, with BYU holding a 247-124-1 series advantage. The first recorded intercollegiate athletic event at BYU was a baseball game between then Brigham Young Academy and the University of Utah in 1895. The game ended in a 3-3 tie when a controversial call started a bench-clearing brawl.

Utah holds a slim 13-12 advantage in the 25 games since current BYU baseball head coach Mike Littlewood took over the helm in 2013. Home field has proven to be a big advantage since 2013 as BYU is currently 8-3 at Miller Park, while Utah is 10-4 in Salt Lake City. 

ON THE HILL
Sophomore right-hander Bryce Robison will start on the mound for BYU in what will be a midweek staff day for the BYU pitching staff.