The Utes, once again, could not close out a series over the weekend when they took on Washington State in Pullman in a three-game set. Utah came out strong, winning the first game, but could not capitalize on the momentum gained the rest of the weekend as it dropped the next two.

In the first game, both teams struggled to get runs across the board in the low-scoring affair. The Utes could not get anything going at the plate as they only gathered six hits on the day. They were scoreless until the sixth inning when sophomore Wyler Smith singled to left to bring home a run. Smith went 2-for-6 at the plate.

Being tied at a run apiece heading into the ninth inning, neither team could push a run across the plate, forcing the game into extra innings. Finally, in the 13th frame, Smith came through clutch once again as he registered a single that brought home two runs and ultimately the win. The Utes stole game one, 4-1.

Junior Mitch Watrous got the start on the mound and pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowing only one run on eight hits. Senior Nick Green relieved him and pitched the remaining 4 2/3 innings,allowing zero runs on four hits while striking out five.

Game two saw a similar story from the Utes, but they could not hold on to the victory. Stuck in a tight game, Utah collected nine hits on the day, but the Cougars tallied a few runs in the middle innings to separate themselves from the Utes. Washington State nabbed the victory with a final score of 4-2.

Sophomore Kody Davis, Smith, senior TJ Bennett, and Konnor Armijo all went 2-for-4 at the plate, but as a team, the Utes went 9-for-34 batting.

Senior Zach Adams started on the mound for Utah and pitched 5 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs on seven hits, while striking out five batters, dropping his record to 0-5 cqon the season.

The final game on Sunday proved to be a pitchers duel. Low-scoring games are nothing new to the Utes, so they were comfortable with each passing inning. Utah, however, could not get a run across home plate and lost a heartbreaker, 1-0.

The no-runs scores for the Utes can be attributed to the low hit count of five hits. Bennett garnered a majority of those by recording three of those five hits, going 3-for-4 at the plate.

Despite the loss, sophomore Dalton Carroll had a good day on the mound. He pitched 7 2/3 innings and allowed only one run on five hits. He also tallied six strikeouts.

“We pitched extremely well all weekend, had chances to win all three, particularly today, but it didn’t work out,” said head coach Bill Kinneberg. 

The team has a short time to flush this weekend out of its memory as it prepares for its final game against in-state rival BYU at Smith’s Ballpark on Tuesday evening. The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Mountain time.

i.smith@chronicle.utah.edu