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Kevin Hussey led Utah with five RBI last week, going 4-for-8 with three runs scored.
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March 26, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SALT LAKE CITY - The Ute baseball team takes on Southern Utah in a three-game series that starts on Saturday, March 28, with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
The series was scheduled to begin on Friday, March 27, but the game was postponed due to field conditions.
"We're ready to play and we want to get back on the field and redeem ourselves from our trip to Cedar City last week," head coach Bill Kinneberg said.
Audio and live stats for all three games can be found at www.UtahUtes.com.
The Utes face the Thunderbirds for the second time this season. In the first meeting, Utah fell 6-4 in Cedar City. The Utes out-hit SUU, 9-8, but struggled to get key hits after leaving 14 runners on base.
SUU is on a three-game losing streak after being swept by San Diego State in a two-game series and falling 7-2 in the final game of a three-game set against Kennesaw State.
Senior Nick Freitas leads the Thunderbirds in almost every offensive category, leading the team in batting average (.390), hits (30), doubles (8), home runs (4), RBI (27), total bases (27) and stolen bases (9-13).
Steve Johnson leads all starters on the mound with a 3.03 ERA and three wins. Kyle Melling leads the team with 22 strikeouts. The Utes will see Alec Reichle for the second time this year - he pitched seven innings against Utah in the first meeting between the two teams.
Utah split a two-game series with Gonzaga on Tuesday and Wednesday, winning the first game 16-9 before falling in game two, 3-2.
In the first game, Utah put together three two-run innings in its first five at-bats then took command of the game by scoring five runs in the sixth to take an 11-2 lead. Utah reached double-figures in runs for the sixth time this season and improved to 5-1 when accomplishing the feat. Kyle Myers made his first start at designated hitter, going 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and a three-run home run. Zach Jones was also 3-for-4 with three RBI. Corey Shimada and Kevin Hussey were each 3-for-5 with three RBI each.
In game two, Hussey's two-run home run put the Utes on the board. With the game tied, 2-2, Gonzaga scored the winning run after a hit batter with the bases loaded walked in the winning run. Joe Pond made his first career start on the mound, pitching 5.2 innings and striking out four.
"Greg Krause is really starting to throw the ball with confidence and I'm getting comfortable with using him," Kinneberg said. "I think it was a big positive to have Joe Pond start - the job that he did for us against Gonzaga was outstanding. Bryn Card's effort on Tuesday was good. We have some positive things happening with our pitching but we still need to shore up a few spots but our starters have basically been good every game.
"I think Corey Shimada is starting to feel more comfortable in the leadoff spot and has been more productive there for us."
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