This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Oxford, Miss. • It took Hunter Simmons two innings to make up for a gaffe, but in the 10th, he delivered on Utah's biggest stage so far.
The junior first baseman hit a go-ahead, two-out double in the 10th inning that scored the winning run for Utah (26-27) in a 6-5 nailbiter over home team and regional top seed Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
They braved rain, a rowdy home crowd of 10,166 at Oxford-University Stadium and some of the best hitters in the SEC. But clutch pitching from reliever Riley Ottesen helped the Utes hang in, and closer Dylan Drachler closed it out.
One of the top teams in the country learned what the Utes already know: Utah is for real, and set for a Saturday afternoon date with Boston College. They're two consecutive wins away from a Super Regional.
"I hate that word 'underdog,' but we feed off that every inning of every game," Simmons said. "We come back in the dugout and say, 'Let's show people what we do.' "
Simmons redeemed himself from an early mistake when he strayed too far from second base in the top of the eighth and was picked off to end the inning. Utah could've taken the lead in that inning with power hitter Josh Rose at the plate.
Utah leaned on its pitching to get through the final stretch of the game, particularly a three-inning scoreless stretch by the freshman Ottesen with four strikeouts, one hit and no walks.
After Chandler Anderson scored the go-ahead run in the 10th, the Utes sent out Drachler. The lefty had to sweat out putting two runners on with only one out, but a flyout and strikeout ended the rainy marathon.
Throughout the day, Ole Miss struggled against Utah's arms: Starter Jayson Rose's change-up threw the lineup for a loop, and Ottesen's cutter and slider were top-notch, coach Bill Kinneberg said. In 10 innings, the Rebels managed just seven hits and four walks.
"Hats off to my guys," Kinneberg said. "It was a great college baseball game."
A pitcher's duel at the start, the game took a shift in the bottom of the fifth on a four-run Ole Miss rally.
Rose gave up back-to-back hits, then back-to-back walks to send in a run. Will Golsan sent in two more on a line drive up center that just tipped out of Kody Davis' glove, then the Rebels scored again on a grounder when Tate Blackman beat a double-play attempt at first, and Errol Robinson scored to give Ole Miss a 5-2 lead.
The advantage was short-lived as Utah was able to tie the game against shaky reliever Brady Feigl. Cody Scaggari scored on a fielder's choice, before junior outfielder Josh Rose smacked a double to the center field warning track, batting in two more runs.
Kinneberg said Rose's final inning — the sixth that stretched his pitch count to 112 — was key for setting the tone for the rest of the evening.
In a battle of heater-throwing pitchers, Utah was first to break through on the scoreboard. In the second inning, Hunter Simmons doubled as Woodman tripped chasing after the deep drive. Josh Rose brought Simmons home on a streaking ground ball to the right field gap, giving Utah a 1-0 lead.
But Ole Miss made its first hit of the game count: Kyle Watson launched a fastball over the centerfield wall in the third inning, tying the game with the solo home run.
Utah scraped across another run in the top of the fifth, breaking the deadlock after Andre Jackson doubled, then tagged up on consecutive fly-outs.
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Storylines
R Utah tops Ole Miss in NCAA regional opener and advances to play Boston College.
• Hunter Simmons hits RBI double to drive in Chandler Anderson for winning run.