LOS ANGELES — The Utah Utes introduced themselves to Pac-12 conference play with a doubleheader sweep of USC on Friday afternoon at Dedeaux Field.
The Utes (6-11, 2-0) took the first game 1-0 behind a combined three-hitter by Joe Pond and Tyler Wagner, negating a complete game, 11-strikeout effort by USC (12-6, 0-2) ace Andrew Triggs.
The Utes scratched a run across against Triggs in the eighth inning. Ryan Cooperstone led off with a shallow single to centerfield and moved to second on a sacrifice. He then scored on a seeing-eye single by Connor Eppard that narrowly snuck by both diving middle infielders.
In the second game, the Trojans’ offensive struggles continued in the second game. They jumped on the board early with a run in the first inning, but it was all the scoring they managed for the day. USC had five hits in the first two innings, but managed only four hits the remainder of the game.
Utah tied the game in the fourth and took the lead with a pair of two-out runs in the seventh inning. Cooperstone and James Brooks both had RBI singles. Brock Duke moved to 2-0, allowing only one run on eight hits in seven innings pitched. He struck out five.
Check out the full photo gallery from the first USC/Utah matchup Friday afternoon below:
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