Jose Briseno – USU Eastern Assistant SID

Photo courtesy of Dallin Grant

The Utah State Eastern baseball team traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, to take on the Paradise Valley Community College Pumas in the opening series of the season.

The Eagles opened with an 8-2 victory over the Pumas in game one. Scoring all eight runs in the third inning, the Eagles were led by Gaige Woods and Peyton Adams, who each had two RBIs. Harley Vicchrilli was the starting pitcher and recorded his first win of the season. He tossed five innings and struck out three hitters. Makaio Swensen also threw and finished with five strikeouts in the final two innings. 

Game two was another decisive win for the Eagles, 10-1 over Paradise Valley. The Eagles used a six-run fourth inning to dominate PVCC. Truman Duryea hit a two-run home run to go with an RBI walk to finish 2-4 with three RBIs. Dagen Gammell threw the Eagles’ first complete game of the season, ending with nine strikeouts.

USU Eastern took the series with a 7-0 win in game three. The dominating win was led by Cam Ford’s grand slam in the first inning, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Bentley Crook and Konner Candalot combined for a shutout on the mound, recording six total strikeouts.

In the final game of the series, the Eagles needed a Jace Olsen RBI-single in the top of the ninth to sweep the Pumas, 6-5. Gavin Bauer got the win on the mound after recording the last 10 outs of the game.

The Eagles will next head to the College of Southern Nevada to participate in the Manny Guerra Border Battle. They will play CSN on Friday, Arizona Western and Central Arizona on Saturday, before finishing with Arizona Western on Sunday.