This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sometimes, you've got it.
Josh Lapiana had command on the mound, the Utes batters had control at the plate, and Utah baseball dominated Oregon at every step in a 13-1 win on Sunday afternoon to clinch the program's first Pac-12 series win of the year.
What made the rubber match victory all the more impressive to coach Bill Kinneberg was how Utah began the weekend on the wrong end of a lopsided game on Friday night, but pushed back during the series at Smith's Ballpark.
"The way they carried themselves, the way they went about it — that's what I saw the first four or five weeks of the season, and that's what we were missing," Kinneberg said. "I'm very proud of them."
Lapiana played a starring role in his first win since the opening weekend of the season. Of the 100 pitches he threw, 69 were for strikes. The junior stayed ahead of counts, giving up six hits and logging a career-best nine strikeouts as he bedeviled the Oregon lineup for a second straight season.
The key, Lapiana said, was his developing rapport with catcher Zach Moeller, as well as recommitting himself to pitch like — well, himself.
"I was just trying to do too much early this season," he said. "Trying to throw it too hard and trying to make everything be nasty instead of just allowing myself to mix up, be down in the zone and elevate it occasionally. That's more my recipe for success."
He got more than enough run support, as eight of nine Utes in the lineup got a hit, brushing out Oregon starter Zack Noll after only five batters. It started in the first, when three consecutive hits brought home runners, giving Utah (12-13, 3-6) a 3-0 lead with only one out.
Oregon yanked Noll in favor of Cole Stringer, who lasted six innings. But Utah's batters never stopped chipping away, logging two runs in the second, one run in the fourth, then exploding for six more in the bottom of the seventh. In all, the Utes had 15 hits.
There were plenty of Utes who enjoyed big offensive days, including DaShawn Kiersey, whose two-run homer in the second inning highlighted four at-bats where he reached base. Freshman outfielder Dominic Foscalina was 3 for 3, scoring twice.
Designated hitter Wade Gulden who slapped a critical home run in Saturday night's 11-5 win followed up with a team-high three RBIs. Going 5 for 11 during the series with the Ducks, Gulden said the team drew motivation from an ugly 11-1 loss in the first game of the series.
"Looking up at the scoreboard after the Friday game, it stung — it hurt," Gulden said. "But we looked up after we got our butts kicked."
Early in the day, it was unclear if the Utes would be able to play: Persistent rains throughout the morning pushed the opening pitch back three hours from its scheduled 1 p.m. start.
That only made Kinneberg more proud of his club, which next weekend will travel for a three-game trial against 24-1 Oregon State, the top-ranked team in the country.
"That was probably the key, the fact when the game started, we were ready to go," he said. "That's the sign of a mature ballclub."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Josh Lapiana throws a career-high nine strikeouts.
• Utah's lineup finishes with 15 hits against the Ducks.
• DaShawn Kiersey goes 2 for 3 with a homer.