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Show DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 8 Thursday, February 28, 2013 BASEBALL Home runs bring success against UC Davis Chad Mobley STAFF WRITER PHOTO COURTESY UTAH ATHLETICS Junior TJ Bennett connects with a pitch during a game Sept. 30. Utah was preparing to face a red-hot UC Davis team going into last weekend. The Aggies doused San Jose State last Wednesday with a 22run onslaught, and before that, they took three of four games from the Washington Huskies. Because of UC Davis' offensive prowess, it seemed as though the key to victory for Utah would be shutting down the Aggies' bats. As it turned out, having even more offensive firepower than UC Davis was the recipe for success. The Utes had no problem cashing in on scoring opportunities last weekend as they ignited the scoreboard with 32 runs in four games. With a little help from the wind, Utah knocked five balls out of the park and took advantage of its opponent's outfield by pushing the envelope on the base paths. The Utes also never counted themselves out and continued to play with confidence to dig themselves out of late-inning deficits. Freshman AJ Young was particularly successful at the plate. He hit his first and second career home runs DUBOIS Continued from page 6 utahfm.ORG UTAH FREE MEDIA Tune in. Be a part. UtahFM.org . A new way of thinking about community broadcasting. You can save lives! Donate blood-plasma. GR11015 Biomat USA I Locations in Taylorsville & Salt Lake City Social Security card, photo ID, and proof of address are required. "-=eVAPP- affect him." Reflecting on how his father ended up homeless in the first place, Jarred started making sacrifices to honor his father's charitable pursuits. During his time at Loyola Marymount, Jarred would often sleep on the couch in his apartment instead of his bed because he knew where his father was sleeping. That has continued since DuBois transferred to Utah last year. "My dad, who is like my idol, wasn't sleeping as comfortably as he would like," Jarred DuBois said. "I make sure that I'm gonna work hard enough to where this doesn't happen again. It was kind of like a reminder to me that I've still got room to grow on and off the court." Jarred did more than just honor his father, though — he took his efforts to the streets. Having occasionally joined his father on weekend outings to feed the homeless in Los Angeles, DuBois decided to implement a similar program when he transferred to the U versus the Aggies and carried a .429 batting average out of the weekend. "He happened to throw two balls, I was looking for a dead red fastball, and I got it," Young said of his first homer. "I didn't miss it." Young's two long balls, along with one each from TJ Bennett, Konnor Armijo and Cory Hunt, proved that the Utes certainly have power in their lineup. However, home runs hardly made up the lion's share of the run total from the weekend. "We had a lot of base hits up the middle," Armijo said. "Our speed guys, Tyler Relf, Braden Anderson [and] Wyler Smith, ran a lot in the outfielders' faces." Armijo credited Utah's smart and disciplined offense for the offensive explosion. "Coach always talks about winning the last three innings," Armijo said. "[We were] pressing the envelope and putting the pressure on them. If they make a good throw, then we're going to tip our caps to them, but when they didn't, it just helps us out." As big as the Utes' numbers were last weekend, Bennett said they came as no surprise to players. Utah has a lot of confidence in its freshman-heavy roster and will be looking for them to deliver all year. "A big part of it was our mind-set," Bennett said. "Going into the weekend, we were locked in that we were good and we had confidence in ourselves that we could play with anybody." In its young season, the new-look Utes are showing they have the means to create run-scoring opportunities, and the coaching staff has a plan to execute. They are 4-3 heading into this weekend's round robin tournament in Minneapolis and will be focusing on maintaining a strong mentality to keep crossing the plate. "It could be easy to make excuses that we're young," Bennett said. "I think our team stopped buying into the reasons why we shouldn't win and started buying into the reasons why we should. We realize we've got the best freshmen in the country ... We definitely have a lot of confidence in them, and they have confidence in themselves." to begin his master's degree. Last fall, DuBois gathered some of his teammates each Sunday, and the group went to Pioneer Park downtown and distributed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and bottles of water to the homeless. The effort began to spread as athletes on other Utah teams started to join in. For DuBois, the service was about more than giving people something to eat and drink. It was about having a connection with others who needed a listening ear. Learning about others' life experiences is something DuBois enjoys. He learned this skill from his mother, Sharon, as she would often converse with strangers in places like the grocery store. "It's not really the food, the sandwich that they eat or the water that we give them, but the time that we spend," Jarred DuBois said. "I really think and live by the fact that everyone has a story, and you can't judge a person by their situation because you don't know what happened to them or how they got there. To listen to different people, I really enjoy it." Although the players haven't been able to provide the Sunday service at Pioneer Park during the basketball season, they intend to resume it once the season concludes. Plans are also in place to begin distributing hand warmers at the park and other places nearby. "He was just taught to be a good kid and has used that foundation and has taken it even further," Sharon DuBois said. As DuBois' senior year comes to a close, he is thankful for the experiences he's been afforded as a college athlete, and he is not only looking to pay that forward in the way he serves others but also hopes to teach those around him the importance of helping people. "It helps the people around me to see how fortunate we are with the stuff that we have," he said. "You can always help somebody else. If I can make io people do something like that, and they make 10 people, down the road you can make a big difference." • No, (1„ NI Experienced video garners, specializing in puzzle games. Earn up to $220 every month! STUDENT MEDIA COUNCIL THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH NEED FUNDING FOR A STUDENT PUBLICATION? Student publications are eligible to receive funding from the Student Media Council for the 2012-2013 academic year. Contact Jake Sorensen, Director of Business, at jake.sorensen@utah.edu to receive an application. Completed applications are due Thursday, March 7, 2013 before 4:00 pm. ot PIG 4.0 THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH r.mcdonald@ chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @ryanwmcdonald WANTED: www.BiomatUSA.Grifols.com STUDENT MEDIA COUNCIL c.mobley@ chronicle.utah.edu Twitter: @Chad_Mobley CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: The Board of Trustees is now accepting applications for members of the Student Media Council. Contact Jake Sorensen at (801) 581-7540 or jake.sorensen@utah.edu for more information or to obtain an application. Completed applications are due Friday, March 15 by 4 pm. Only you have the skills required to be a page designer for The Daily Utah Chronicle. We need your unique ability to fit together many varied pieces into one unified whole. Your parents thought you were wasting your time, now prove them wrong. • contact t.pratt@ chronicle.utah.edu to apply. |
