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Show Thursday, March 25, 1999 continued from page 8 does. So far, Utah has managed to keep of only three Utes who has yet to commit a fielding ting average and is one error. While Utah has had some nice surprises in the offensive performance of guys like Nate Weese, who is batting .400 in the WAC, Adam Castleton, who has 17 RBI, and batting leader Jed Chrisman (.379), it has not witnessed consistent performances from some who were predicted to do well. Third baseman Mike Goff, who missed much of last season with a broken leg, is batting .236 and has nine errors on the year. In the WAC, Goff's average has slipped to .in. Sam Swcnson, who started in center field a season ago, has batted just .196 this year and has played in only 12 1; 77m Fsnay (center) offers some words of encouragement to his defense against Rice last weekend. -- In Utah's favor, the Utes don't have to play Rice again, and everyone else BASEBALL ifaj cooci Utah Chronicle 11 THe Daily games. The team batting average is .276, but opponents arc hitting over .300 on average against the Utah pitching staff. Seven Ute pitchers have ERA's over 5.00, and Utah's 6.19 combined ERA is seventh of the 11 teams in the WAC; the offensive production has not been strong enough to make up for the pitching woes. One bright spot in the Utah rotation is Brandon Page. Page's 2.57 ERA over 44 innings is the sixth lowest among WAC pitchers. Senior Lance Erickscn is leading Utah in wins and has pitched three complete games for Utah, but pitching the most innings has taken a toll on his stats. Erickscn has given up eight homers and has a 5.56 ERA. Many of Utah's problems on the mound are actually behind free of injuries, which will help the team later in the season. Last yea, the Utes were decimated by injuries to the starting lineup going into the middle and end of the season. After road games, the Utes will finally be at home for a stretch, and that won't hurt. Utah home games arc played at Franklin Covey Field, where the Utes played fall ball. This weekend might be the Utes' chance to move up. New Mexico will be in town, and they aren't faring much better than Utah. The Lobos are in conference play and are behind Utah in almost every statistical category. The Utes and the Lobos will be at Franklin Quest at 2 p.m. on Friday, and at p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Next week Utah is back on the road for a scries with Air Force in Colorado 7 1 Springs. 13 I f1 u 00 4 i ''' IM o X u x the mound. "We didn't play defense," Esmay said after the Rice game on Sunday. "When you are battling the top pitcher in the conference, guys have got to make plays." At least enough plays to get out of last place in the conference. z - Offense has not been a Ute problem. YMNAST1C N GIVEAWAY! TU tuition for 12 credit hours during fall semester 1999 will be drawn for at the meets. In-sta- te 39 (off 00 Hrii iiHikViiiiAiiniai mi Saturday, March 27th U 7:00 pm m VS. Rwn T -- o II We will draw a name from the list of all U students currently registered and will announce the winner at the meet. All eligible. The n II the Jon M. Huntsman Center Co-Sponsor- ed student U students are MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN by Athletics Dept. University of Utah Is. |