Buffs take series against Utah to maintain hot start

Pitcher Chase Ambuehl takes the mound during a fall game. (Photo by Jacob Hock/Sko Buffs Sports)

The Rumble in the Rockies took to the diamond last weekend in a three-game series between the Colorado Buffaloes and Utah Utes. The Buffs fell four runs shy of a sweep but still won the set, continuing to ride off proficient pitching.

Game Onenac

The Buffs returned to Boulder for the first game at Scott Carpenter Park of the spring season on Saturday, March 7. The 6 p.m. first pitch came days after a snowstorm in Boulder, teeing up for a chilly series opener.

Cold weather typically thwarts hitting, and Colorado felt the effects, only connecting for one base hit all game. Atypically, however, the Buffs still nearly scored double-digit runs in the 8-5 win.

Plate discipline and exploiting opponent errors were the name of the game for the Buffs. CU tallied nine walks and came around to score on a handful of wild pitches, leaving very few runs earned from both sides.

After a solid first inning from both starters – Colorado’s senior Peter Nickerson and Utah’s sophomore Samuel Butz – the Buffs stacked five runs in the second, four of which were unearned and sourced from Utah’s errors.

Thanks to six walks on the frame and multiple bases loaded opportunities, four runs were scored via a wild pitch. Already up three, Colorado had runners on second and third base when a wild pitch by Utah’s reliever Noah Shamlou skipped to the backstop, and both runners came home.

Shamlou settled in strongly and took the game into the sixth inning, allowing the Utes to crawl back and eventually make it a one-run game. Nevertheless, the tail end of Colorado’s bullpen, with freshman Wesley Freed and senior Nathan Hoffman, shut down any rally to give CU the victory.

Game Two

The seven-inning games two and three took place on a warmer Sunday, with the bridge starting at 11 a.m. and having the best pitching performance from CU all year. Senior starter Will Shine and freshman Gabe Zebrack completed the whole game, combining for two allowed hits and one run in the 5-1 win.

Sophomore Charlie Lesch went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI as the Buffs executed a similar game plan from Saturday. Three walks and two hit by pitches kept them on the base paths, also conducting five successful steals and three team RBI.

Utah threatened in the final inning and brought up the game-tying run with the bases loaded, but it was Zebrack who came out victorious, capping off a stellar game on the mound.

Game Three

With the series victory already locked down, head coach Colin Reynolds implemented a fresh lineup to give some new Buffs at-bats.

Utah starter Matthew Lebretcht came out and pitched a clean, efficient five innings, not allowing a run and getting some support from his offense. Similar to game one, the Utes struck on two wild pitches from Colorado starter Archie Neibart in the first inning and jumped to a three-run lead before the Buffs even took a swing.

It took Colorado until the last inning to get on the board, already down an overpowering nine runs. In the bottom of the seventh, the Buffs loaded up the bases for junior shortstop Finn Simones when Utah went on to walk in consecutive runs. 

A Caedon Meyer sacrifice fly and three-run homer from Tyler Gilmore suddenly made it a three-run game, but it was too little too late for the black and gold in the 9-6 defeat.

“It was a good series against a non-conference opponent that allowed us to get all our guys a chance to play,” Reynolds said. “We pitched well but couldn’t muster [up] enough offense to get the sweep.”

The two-games-to-one victory for Colorado brings them to 5-2 on the season, good enough for third place in the Mid-America West division. Air Force and Metro State have higher winning percentages and sit above the Buffs, but that might not last long after Colorado’s next meeting this week against the Colorado School of Mines.

This is the first time in nearly a decade without the Orediggers in the division, since their relegation to Division 2 this winter.

“We’ve got two more non-conference games against Mines this week as our final tune-up and to figure out what our best nine looks like,” Reynolds said.

The four-game series splits venues, with the first two in Boulder on March 11 and 12 and the final two in Golden on March 13 and 14. 

Both games at Scott Carpenter Park will stream on the Sko Buffs Sports YouTube channel, beginning at 6 p.m.