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Show 6 SPORTS Tuesday, April 20, 2010 www.dailyutahchronicle.com UPCOMING SPORTS EVENTS No-Tecok TODAY: Baseball Utah @ Southern Utah 3 p.m. Cedar City Bryan Chouinard ASST. SPORTS EDITOR Quarterback development THURSDAY: Baseball As always in football, news swirled around the quarterback position all spring after true freshman Jordan Wynn finished the 2009 season on a high note by being named the offensive MVP of the Poinsettia Bowl. Wynn came into the spring as the clearcut starter for head coach Kyle Whittingham, and though nothing has happened that will change that status, back-ups Terrance Cain and Griff Robles have also impressed this spring. "I always feel that having two or more great quarterbacks coming in (to the season) is a blessing," said starting center Zane Taylor. Wynn, who left Saturday's Red White Game with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder, is still the obvious choice to be the Utes' signal-caller in the fall. The U's athletics department confirmed via its Facebook page that Wynn had sprained his shoulder and will have a scope sometime next week, but will be ready to go by the start of volunteer workouts in June. Cain, who led the Red team to the win, completed 14 ofi6 passes on his way to racking up more than 215 yards and two touchdowns. Cain has consistently linked up with receivers on deep routes this spring, completing throws he sometimes struggled with last season. Robles, on the other hand, has shown his ability to hurt defenses with both his arm and his legs. Robles, who signed with the Utes back in 2007, is back on campus after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and he wasted no time making his presence felt on the field. Robles was known for his strong arm during his time at Spanish Fork High School but has shown his ability to run the ball out of the wildcat formation as well. Utah @ BYU 6:30 p.m. Provo Softball San Diego State @ Utah 4 p.m. Ute Softball Field Women's Gymnastics NCAA Championships-Prelims 1 p.m. ET Gainesville, Fla. Track & Field Drake Relays All Day Des Moines, Iowa Track & Field Robison Invitational All Day Provo SPORTS WORLD Shorthanded Jazz tie series by beating Nuggets in nailbiter TYLER COBB/The Daily Utah Chronicle Redshirt freshman Griff Robles was known in high school for a strong arm, but he has also fit well in Utah's wildcat formation. See FOOTBALL Page 8 BASEBALL Injured Utes aim for consecutive wins DENVER (AP)—With Utah running out of big bodies, Deron Williams carried an even bigger load in leading the Jazz to a 114-111 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night in Game 2 of their Western Conference playoffs. Williams had 33 points and 14 assists and Carlos Boozer added 20 points and 15 rebounds as the injury-riddled Jazz tied the series at a win each with the series shifting to Salt Lake City for Game 3 on Friday night. Chauncey Billups' 3-point attempt from the top of the key in the closing seconds hit off the back iron and the Nuggets walked dejectedly off the court. Williams and Kyle Korver made two free throws each in the final II seconds to hold off the Nuggets, who had overcome a 14-point third-quarter deficit to take a 102-98 lead with 4:3o left. Utah was playing without two of its most experienced playoff performers in forward Andrei Kirilenko, who is out for this series with a strained calf, and center Mehmet Okur, who tore his left Achilles' tendon in Game and is done for the playoffs. The Nuggets couldn't capitalize as Kyryo Fesenko played effectively on Nene, and Carmelo Anthony was flustered despite scoring 32 points just 48 hours after his playoff-best 42-point performance in the opener. Anthony made 14 of 15 free throws but was just 9 of 25 from the field. Denver is I-II all-time when Anthony fouls out. He was whistled for his sixth foul with 25 seconds left and the Nuggets down by a point. After Anthony's big game in the opener, the Jazz talked about being more physical with him in Game 2, although Nuggets acting coach Adrian Dantley was skeptical they could do that effectively with young players Matthews and Miles: "They're not Kirilenko. They're not Matt Harpring," Dantley said. They were just as effective on this night, however. Bubba Brown STAFF WRITER Just two days away from beginning a crucial series against its biggest rival, the Utah baseball team will attempt to build momentum in a onegame tilt at Southern Utah tonight. But the Utes will be facing more than Southern Utah. They will also be fighting the injury bug, which has taken its toll on two of Utah's key players. Shortstop Michael Beltran has been slow returning since sustaining a wrist injury in Utah's io-8 loss to Utah Valley on March 3o. Outfielder Zach Jones sustained a hand injury this past weekend in Utah's 4-3 loss at San Diego State. At the time of their injuries, Beltran was hitting more than .39o, and Jones was hitting .303. Beltran pinch hit in Sunday's game and might be nearing a return, but the timetable for Jones is less certain. "We're a little beat up," said head coach Bill Kinneberg. "Michael Beltran is playing a little defense. Zach Jones is out. We don't know how long he'll be out, but it will be a while. Some guys are going to have to step up and get through it and be ready for BYU on Thursday." Andrew Wilding will get the start for the Utes, who are looking to win consecutive games for the first time in seven games. In his last outing, Wilding was effective, limiting a Utah Valley offense—which Kinneberg has called one of the toughest Utah has faced this season—to just two runs in 5 2/3 innings. The senior righthander also struck out seven batters. "It was tremendous," said Kinneberg. "Like I said, this club can really swing it, and Andrew pitched great. I was very proud of Andrew. He battled and he really competed, giving us six innings, and we really needed that." The performance lowered Wilding's season ERA to 4.03 and improved his record to 3-2. The Utes met Southern Utah once previously this season, which resulted in a 15-7 win for Utah. In that game, sophomore C.J. Cron did the heavy lifting for the Utes, homering twice and collecting six RBIs. Wilding also worked that game, garnering mixed results. He gave up only two earned runs TYLER COBB/The Daily Utah Chronicle Sophomore catcher Jo Jo Sharrar dives back to first base to avoid a pick-off during the Utes' loss to UNLV on April 11. Despite numerous injuries, the Utes will take on SUU tonight in Cedar City. in 5 1/2 innings. Kelsey Outram, who started the game for the Thunderbirds, was ineffective, yielding eight earned runs in two innings. The Utes are coming off a much-needed victory against San Diego State on Sunday. After starting out 5-1 in conference play, they lost five consecutive Mountain West affairs, including a sweep at the hands of UNLV and the first two games against San Diego State. By escaping San Diego with a 5-4 win Sunday, the Utes stemmed the slide and avoided falling into fifth place in the conference standings. The Utes are now tied with San Diego State for fourth with 12 league games to go, including three against conference-leading and nationally ranked TCU. The game marks the final midweek game the Utes will play this season, as the rest of the scheduled games are part of a three-game weekend series. The Utes have had mixed success in midweek games this season, going 2-2 against Utah Valley and Southern Utah. The Utes will have a quick turnaround between tonight's game and the beginning of the BYU series, which is scheduled for a 6:3o p.m. start Thursday night in Provo. b.brown@chronicle.utah.edu Game Stats Utah Hits Home Runs Runs Batted In On-Base Percentage ERA 344 36 185 .379 4.15 SUU 357 23 180 .365 8.90 Major Imago Week #3: April 22-25 AL ID Best of Week #2: Larry L. Smith oSTo+ Fri. tor Thu. @ Fri. NL @ Dodgers Fri. .4* 44. @ @ . Red Sox Blue Jays Angels Orioles Tigers Fri. „,,TMA: ioNpl Fri . @ Nationals Padres Name n En s Reds R litillir.,9 Fri . - 1-,-,.-..)', . Pirates Contact Rays Tigers * 1 : 1 4,..• Rangers Fri. fixate @ itt (14-2) ,:ikiiii .lialini Pt...p„ .s..4. tit.. Mariners Fri. Mets Cubs f-2-'„ "i) Brewers i.,1,— 'ilk Fri. 41w-N,.., @ .- , ,- Marlins CI Fri *Vall, — " Iri. llt, Tiebreaker: Pick the final score of Twins ** IWO Angels Fri. *- @ Rockies Phillies Fri. g Royals Yankees White Sox Twins 1@1 @ . Fri. *W g -Now Astros Braves Fri. l'Itt i l'h'14 Indians ..; vid A's Fri. @ MARTS' e Dbacks Cardinals Giants @ Angels Circle all of your selections and submit sheets to Union Room 318 by 5 p.m.Thursday Winners announced every Tuesday, but just because you win Major League Match-ups doesn't mean the Cubs will finally win the World Series. Featured Staff Pick: Ty Cobb Major League Match-up Records: Paige Fieldsted 18-14, Bryan Chouinard and Ty Cobb 17-15, Jake Hibbard and Corbin Godfrey 16-16. |