SALT LAKE CITY – Three hits from Wade Gulden highlighted the Utah baseball team’s Pac-12 series-opening loss to 17th-ranked UCLA, 16-3.
Gulden led Utah at the plate with three of Utah’s seven hits (3-for-4). Davis Delorefice and Matt Richardson both drove in runs.
Josh Tedeschi pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing eight runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts in the loss. Kyle Robeniol, making his first appearance since early March, pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts. Spencer Kevin Johnson and Spencer Johnson made brief appearances while Austin Moore threw the final 2 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. The Ute pitchers struggled with control, allowing 12 walks on the night.
Utah took an early first-inning lead as DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., led off the inning with a single to extend his hitting streak to 18 games. He eventually scored on a wild pitch.
UCLA got on the board with a run in the third, took the lead with two runs in the fourth and broke the game open with a five-run fifth inning for an 8-1 lead.
Utah also scored a run in the sixth inning. Dunn led off the inning with a single and scored on an RBI triple by Delorefice.
UCLA continued to add to its lead with five runs in the seventh and three in the ninth.
The Utes added a run in the ninth after hits by Gulden and Richardson.
Utah and UCLA get back at it in game two of the series on Saturday, April 14, beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT.
