Utah Utes campus briefs

BASEBALL: The Utes travel out of state for the first time in almost a month to face San Diego State in a three-game series, beginning Friday at 7 p.m.

Solid pitching has held the Utes together over the last few games while the offense has fought to score runs. Utah was swept by UNLV in its last conference series last weekend but defeated Utah Valley, 5-3, in Orem on Tuesday evening. Three pitchers combined for 15 strikeouts in the win – Andrew Wilding, Zach Adams and Brock Duke.

San Diego State has also struggled at the plate this season, batting just .283 as a team. Brandon Meredith leads the team with a .358 batting average and ranks fifth in the MWC with a .459 on-base percentage. The Aztecs dropped their Tuesday game to Cal State Northridge, 3-2, but before that had won their last five games, including a win over No. 18 UC Irvine, 6-5 and a 3-1 victory over No. 12 TCU.

San Diego State's preseason All-America pitcher Addison Reed has been sidelined the past several weeks after breaking his pinky finger, but will be making his return in Friday night's game. He has a 2.70 ERA. Jordan Whatcott (4-4, 3.83 ERA) will start Friday's game for Utah.