BASEBALL: C.J. Cron went 3-for-4 with five RBIs but the Utah baseball fell to No. 11 TCU, 11-6, on Friday.
TCU got after Utah starter Jordan Whatcott early, scoring three runs on four hits in the first inning. Utah put a run on the board in the bottom of the inning on Cron's RBI single to left field after Nick Kuroczko walked, then stole second, to put the score at 3-1.
Bryan Holaday's two-run homer in the second inning (his first of two round-trippers on the night) combined with a sacrifice fly in the third from Jerome Pena increased the TCU lead to 6-1 before Cron hit a three-run homer over the left-field fence to cut that lead to 6-4.
TCU hit three home runs in the fourth and fifth innings to pull ahead, 11-4. Utah continued to battle, scoring a run in the seventh inning on another RBI hit from Cron before adding a run in the eighth on back-to-back doubles from Gavin Green and Cooper Blanc, putting the score at 11-6.
Whatcott went four innings, taking the loss. He falls to 4-6 on the season. Andrew Wilding pitched four innings and had three strikeouts. He gave up just three hits. Tyler Andersen pitched the final inning and stuck out one.
TCU and Utah continue the three-game series today beginning at 5 p.m. at Lindquist Field in Ogden. The game will be televised live on CBS College Sports.
SOFTBALL: Sophomore third baseman Whitney Holm hit a game-winning solo home run to give the University of Utah softball team an 11-10 win over Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference game Friday at Bruin Field on the Salt Lake Community College campus in Taylorsville.
Utah (24-24, 4-6 MWC) scored a run in all seven of its at-bats of the game. Utah has won seven of its last 10 games The Nos. 8 and 9 positions in the Ute batting order combined to go 6-for-8 with six RBIs. Holm was 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Tia Palauni was 3-for-4 as well with three runs driven in. Lindsey Palmer was the third Ute go 3-for-4 with one RBI and a run scored.
The Utes continue their MWC schedule today against Colorado State. First pitch from Bruin Field is set for 1 p.m.
WOMEN'S TENNIS: The top-seeded University of Utah women's tennis team (17-7, 8-0) saw its 10-match winning streak snapped by fifth-seeded San Diego State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Championships on Friday at Las Vegas. The 40th-ranked Utes were upset by the 67th-ranked Aztecs by a score of 4-1 at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.
"The credit goes to San Diego State," said head coach Mat Iandolo. "We had trouble handling being the favorites and they played the underdogs well. Now we just have to sweat it out and see if we get an NCAA bid Tuesday."
In doubles play, seniors Erin Monson and Andrea Maughan fell to Julia Trunk and Julia Wais, 8-0, at the No. 2 doubles spot.
Junior Evgenia Kryuchkova and sophomore Lisa Johnson downed Alicia Aguilar and Olivia Coleman at the No. 3 position, 8-3.
Sophomore Anastasia Putilina and freshman Paige Miles were topped by Roxanne and Sierra Ellison, 8-5, at the No. 1 spot, giving SDSU the doubles point.
In singles play, Kryuchkova's 14-match run ended in a 6-3, 6-1 loss to 96th-ranked Aguilar at the No. 2 position.
Johnson earned Utah's point when she downed S. Ellison, 6-4, 6-0, at the No. 5 spot to extend her winning streak to eight.
Monson was topped by Wais at the No. 3 position, 6-2, 7-5, to put the Aztecs up 3-1 over the Utes.
Miles fell to R. Ellison, 6-2, 6-4, at the No. 4 spot, to make the final score 4-1 in favor of SDSU.
The selections for the 2010 NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships will be announced Tuesday, May 4 between 5-6 p.m. ET (7-8 p.m. MT), on ESPNews.