Utah Utes baseball: Utes look to build on '08 run

Finishing third in the Mountain West Conference tournament last year was a nice milestone for the University of Utah baseball team. It seemed to be an unexpected turn for a program not usually accustomed to tasting postseason success.

To players on that team, experiencing such success not only felt natural, but also was a step they expected to take.

"We definitely saw some growth through the season, and we definitely got better as the season went on," senior infielder Corey Shimada said. "It really wasn't a surprise to us that we were able to finish third in the Mountain West Conference."

In that same vein, Utah fully expects to build on the momentum generated from that '08 run in 2009.

On paper, this is a club that returns an abundance of experience at some positions and enjoys newfound depth at others.

All four of the infield starters return from a year ago. Shimada will man second base, with fellow senior Austin Jones at first. Sophomore Michael Beltran returns at shortstop and junior Nick Kuroczko will occupy third. Both Beltran and Shimada were named to the Rivals.com preseason All-MWC team.

Shimada led the league in runs scored last season with 65. Beltran led all freshman hitters in the MWC, with a .372 batting average, and finished fourth overall in the conference. There is much less experience in the outfield, where junior center fielder Cooper Blanc is the lone returning starter. Newcomer Rick Cornu has cemented himself as a starter at right field. But a position battle is shaping up in left field between junior college transfers Kevin Hussey and Zach Jones.

That position battle is nothing compared to what Utah will see at catcher. Three players — sophomore Devin Walker and freshmen C.J. Cron and Jo Jo Sharrar — are all battling to become the primary starter. Walker started in 10 games last season but is by no means the front-runner behind the plate.

For now, Utah coach Bill Kinneberg will elect to let them all have a crack at seeing playing time.

"Right now, all three of them will catch," Kinneberg said. "All three of them are very capable of doing a great job defensively, which is a real luxury for us. All three have their own strengths, but they're all catching and throwing and blocking very well."

There are some big changes when it comes to the pitching staff from a year ago. Stephen Fife decided to forgo his senior season and entered the MLB Draft. With his absence, senior Brian Budrow is the team's No. 1 pitcher early in the season.