Author: Jesse

Nate Rasmussen and his suddenly hot Utah Valley baseball team delivered an unforgettable memory for players and fans alike Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Regionals.

Thanks to some clutch pitching and timely hitting, along with a fortuitous challenge that went UVU’s way, the Wolverines beat No. 12 overall seed Oregon 6-5 at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon, for Utah Valley’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win.

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Make no mistake: the Wolverines earned their upset, as they never trailed against the Big Ten’s Ducks.

“What a fun night. It would have been the best night anyways, even if we lost that, with the way competed all night,” Rasmussen said in an ESPNU interview after the game.

“I thought we did an awesome job to come out with the win.”

Jimmy De Anda finished with a team-high three RBI — “I couldn’t be prouder of the kid,” Rasmussen said of his left fielder who was 2 of 4 on the night — and Carston Herman pitched a tough 4⅔ innings in relief to earn the win, striking out six.

Behind those two star efforts, UVU put together a solid, winning performance for Rasmussen, the program’s first-year coach who earned a contract extension earlier this week after getting the Wolverines (33-27) back to the NCAAs for just the second time in school history.

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The night’s most controversial moment came in the eighth inning, when UVU was nursing a 6-4 lead after the Ducks’ Drew Smith hit his second home run of the night to start the bottom half of the frame.

Oregon then got two more runners on base with no outs thanks to a walk and a single, leaving runners at the corners, and it felt like the Ducks were due to grab their first lead of the night.

Facing an 0-2 count, Oregon’s Chase Meggers hit a shot to left field that was caught by De Anda for an out. Anson Aroz tagged up at third, and De Anda’s throw home took a high hop and went off the top of the glove of UVU catcher Mason Strong moments before Aroz ran into Strong and was initially ruled safe at home on the play.

Rasmussen challenged the ruling, asking for malicious contact from Aroz on the play that left trainers coming out to check on Strong after the hard play at the plate.

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Following a review of more than seven minutes, umpires overturned the call and Aroz was called out for the second out of the inning due to malicious contact. Aroz was also ejected from the game, meaning he won’t be available Saturday.

As such, instead of a 6-5 game with one out, the Wolverines were up 6-4 with two outs in the eighth and Herman was able to get out of the inning without any further damage.

The theatrics weren’t done though.

After Utah Valley went down in order in the top of the ninth, Herman stayed in and got into some trouble early with a leadoff walk.

Herman fought, though, and struck out Mason Neville for the first out.

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On the next at-bat, a wild pitch moved Carter Garate over to second, and then Dominic Hellman singled to move runners to the corners with one out.

After a meeting at the pitcher’s mound, Herman stayed in and faced Jacob Walsh, who got a hold of a Herman pitch and sent it deep, but it was caught on the warning track for the second out.

Though it ended up as a sac fly and made the score 6-5, UVU was one out from the win.

That’s when Rasmussen called on his closer, Cooper Littledike.

Smith, who led the Ducks with three RBI, all on home runs, was next at bat, but Littledike got him to ground into an out, ending the game and starting the celebration for UVU.

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“Carston Herman, I don’t know how many pitches he’s thrown in the last 10 days. Don’t ask me that question later, please, but he’s been a stud,” Rasmussen said.

“Cooper Littledike’s a walk-on in our program, became the closer and comes in there and gets the final out. It’s just awesome.”

With the win, Utah Valley advances to face the Arizona Wildcats in the winners bracket on Saturday, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. MDT.

Oregon, meanwhile, takes on the Cal Poly Mustangs in the one-loss bracket Saturday in the double-elimination event.

The Wildcats beat the Mustangs 3-2 in the regional’s first game Thursday.

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Friday after a slow start offensively, the Wolverines pushed ahead in the top of the third with a four-hit, four-run inning.

Brody Block walked to open the inning, then CJ Colyer singled to left field on a play wherein the left fielder lost the ball in the sun.

De Anda followed that up with a full-count shot down the left field line to score Block.

In the next at-bat, Luke Iverson hit an RBI single to right field early in the count to make it 2-0.

Then after two outs, Strong doubled the lead to 4-0 on a single to left.

It looked like UVU might get out of the third with the 4-0 lead intact after two quick outs for Oregon in the bottom half of the inning, but after a Ducks single, Smith hit a two-run homer. Then on the next pitch, Aroz blasted a home run to left field to make it 4-3.

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Over the next several innings, both teams saw their fair share of solid pitching and defense to keep the score a one-run game.

The Wolverines then pounced when an opportunity presented itself.

Oregon starting pitcher Jason Reitz, who had a career-high 14 strikeouts and retired 10 straight UVU batters at one point, finally wore down in the seventh.

A first-batter walk gave the Wolverines their first base runner since the third, and a hit by pitch put two on with no outs and out went Reitz.

Immediately after the pitching change, an Oregon error on a pick-off pushed UVU’s base runners to second and third and De Anda capitalized with a two-run single up the middle to make it 6-3.

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That was enough of a lead for Herman and Littledike to hang on to, after UVU starting pitcher Corbin Kirk went four-plus innings.

With that elusive first NCAA win in tow, the Wolverines move forward Saturday with the chance to build off what’s now a five-game win streak, all in postseason play.

“It’s huge,” Rasmussen said. “I got here four years ago as a recruiting coordinator. The team had just gone 10-47, and to be here four years later … our first program postseason win, (it’s) just huge and nobody deserves it more than these guys.”

This is why baseball is the greatest sport.

Sometimes it can be exhilarating, and then at times it can absolutely break your heart.

Oregon baseball suffered that heartbreak Friday night at PK Park as the Ducks dropped their opening game in the Eugene Regional of the NCAA tournament 6-5 to Utah Valley.

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So much went down in this game it could have been an entire season’s worth. But the biggest play of the contest came in the bottom of the eighth inning with Oregon doing it best to erase a 6-3 deficit. The Ducks scored one on Drew Smith’s second home run of the game. They had eventually put runners on the corners with no outs when Chase Meggers hit a fly ball to left.

Anson Aroz, who homered himself earlier in the contest, tagged up to score, but the Utah Valley catcher, Mason Strong, was seemingly blocking the plate and Aroz ploughed into him. Watching the play live, it looked as if Strong didn’t give Aroz a path to the plate in order to score. Knowing it was a crucial play, the Wolverines challenged, thinking Aroz was malicious in his intent to score.

After a nearly 10-minute review, the umpires decided the play was malicious and Aroz was out. Not only was he out, but he is disqualified from playing Saturday’s elimination game against Cal Poly. It was a double whammy that the Ducks just couldn’t recover from. They scored one in the ninth, but Smith grounded out to end the game.

Lost in all the controversy and action late in the game was the effort from Oregon starting pitcher Jason Reitz. The lanky 6-foot-11 hurler went six innings, allowed five earned runs, but struck out 14 Wolverines. The five earned runs are misleading as the Oregon defense didn’t exactly play its best. Aroz lost a fly ball in the outfield and then let another ball get by him for a two-base error.

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Utah Valley scored four big runs in third to grab a 4-0 lead. But the Ducks quickly bounced back on a Smith two-run homer and Aroz followed that up with a 426-foot bomb off of his bat. It was 4-3 until the seventh when the Utah Valley scored two insurance runs off of reliever Santiago Garcia.

Oregon will try to forget what just happened and focus on beating Cal Poly, who lost to Arizona 3-2 earlier in the day. First pitch is scheduled for 12 pm on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Oregon baseball faces uphill climb in Eugene Regional after 6-5 loss

EUGENE – The Oregon Ducks baseball team’s run in the NCAA tournament got off to a poor start Friday night at PK Park.

No. 4 seed Utah Valley beat the top-seeded Ducks 6-5 in the first round of the Eugene Regional, sending Oregon to an elimination game against Cal Poly at noon Saturday.

The Wolverines (33-27) play No. 2-seed Arizona (40-18) at 6 p.m. Saturday. The Wildcats won 3-2 over No. 3-seed Cal Poly (41-18) in Friday’s early game.

Oregon (42-15) watched starter Jason Reitz put together a mostly magnificent performance outside of two innings.

The 6-foot-11 junior struck out 14 in six innings but allowed four earned runs in the third and put two runners on base in the seventh. Both scored after Reitz was removed from the game.

Reitz’s 14 strikeouts are tied for fourth at Oregon in the modern era and are the most by a Ducks pitcher in postseason history.

UO right fielder Drew Smith hit two home runs and drove in three runs, but left the tying run on base in the ninth when he recorded the game’s final out on a grounder to short.

Oregon played from behind all night. Utah Valley’s first assault came in the third, when the Wolverines scored four runs. Jimmy De Anda got things started with a double to left that scored Brody Block. CJ Colyer also had a run-scoring single, followed by a two-run single by Mason Strong.

Reitz got out of the inning with another strikeout.

The Ducks responded with three runs in the bottom of hte inning, two coming a two-run homer by Smith. Aroz also homered, cutting the UVU lead to 4-3.

Reitz dominated the next three innings, striking out seven batters to keep the score at 4-3. But trouble popped up in the seventh, when Reitz put the first two batters on base with a walk and a hit batter.

A pick off throw by reliever Santiago Garcia sailed into the outfield, allowing the runners to advance. Two hitters later, De Anda delivered a two-run single for a 6-3 Wolverines lead.

The Ducks trimmed the deficit to 6-4 in the eighth on a homer by Smith. Then came the fireworks.

Aroz walked, then moved to third on a single by Molony. Chase Meggers followed, teasing with a couple of long balls that drifted just foul. He then lofted a sacrifice fly that initially plated Aroz, pulling the Ducks to within one.

But Utah Valley coach Nate Rasmussen asked the umpires to review the call, saying that Aroz caused “malicious contact” in bowling over UVU catcher Mason Strong at the plate. After a review conducted at the NCAA’s replay command center in Pittsburgh, the game officials announced that Aroz was out and ejected him.

Aroz is automatically suspended for Saturday’s game against Cal Poly.

The Ducks mildly threatened in the ninth. Carter Garate led off with a walk, and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Walsh. But closer Cooper Littledike slammed the door, getting Smith to ground out and seal the upset win.

Gov. Spencer Cox’s emergency drought declaration has now expired, but state water managers say conservation should “remain a top priority” as the state’s typically driest season approaches.

“Rising temperatures and increased demand will be a cause for concern this summer. Our reservoirs will get us through this year, but another year like this will stress our water supply,” Candice Hasenyager, director at the Utah Division of Water Resources, said in a state water update on Thursday.

Cox declared a state of emergency for 17 of Utah’s 29 counties late last month, citing extreme and severe drought conditions already in place across large swaths of central and southern Utah. Below-average snowpack levels in those regions were also a factor in the emergency.

The governor ordered the Utah Drought Response Committee to review “hardships and other circumstances” caused by drought in the affected counties, recommend actions to address those challenges, and create a way for “interagency coordination” tied to those actions. It also recommended that water supplies and irrigation companies across southern and central Utah “encourage efficient landscape watering,” among other things.

Under state law, a governor’s emergency declaration may only last 30 days unless extended by the Utah Legislature. The legislative body had no special session this month, meaning it declined to extend the order.

Although Utah’s reservoir system remains at 87% of capacity, drought continues to be a challenge heading into summer.

About 70% of Utah remains in drought, including 46% of the state that is either in severe or extreme drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor’s final report before meteorological summer begins. Most areas not in drought are still considered “abnormally dry,” leaving only a section of the Wasatch Backcountry out of any type of drought category for now.

While storms and cooler temperatures could return to the state next week following a heat wave this weekend, long-range forecasting models favor above-normal temperatures throughout most of the summer.

Those models are also uncertain about precipitation, but summer is still the state’s driest season on average. The state averaged 2.65 inches of statewide precipitation during meteorological summer between 1991 and 2020 — more than 0.8 inches below any other season, according to federal climate data.

Monsoonal moisture is beneficial for improving wildfire conditions and soil moisture levels, as well as lowering evaporation rates across the state’s reservoirs. Yet, it does very little to pad the state’s water supply, which is generally shaped by snowpack collection that melts in the spring.

State water managers are optimistic about water availability this year, regardless of how this summer plays out, but they caution there’s no way of knowing if next winter’s snowpack will help recharge the system. That’s why they’re still calling on residents to cut back on watering as much as possible this summer.

Despite its expiration, Hasenyager said she believes Cox’s drought declaration still sent a message that “water conservation is essential for Utah’s future.” She encourages residents to find ways to reduce water consumption this summer, especially since water usage typically increases during the warmer months.

“Let’s be mindful of how we use water,” she added. “Most of our water use happens outdoors — start there.”

The state also opened up applications last week for an Emergency Disaster Relief Loan program for farmers and ranchers before the drought order expired.

After taking home the regular season Big Ten Conference Championship, Mark Wazikowski and the Oregon Ducks are looking to make a splash in the postseason, starting on Friday afternoon. Named one of the regional sites for the NCAA Tournament, the 12th-seed Ducks open up with a game against Utah Valley at PK Park.

Arizona and Cal Poly are also in the Eugene Regional and will play on Friday as well. The winners of the two games will play each other on Saturday night, while the losers of the first game meet early on Saturday afternoon. Game times on Sunday are 3 p.m. for the loser-out game and 7 p.m. for the championship game. If an if-necessary game is needed, it will be played on Monday, with a time to be determined after Sunday’s action.

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This will be the fourth time in the last 14 years that Oregon has hosted a regional, and if they advance, they could be in a great spot to host a super regional for the third time in 14 years.

Here’s everything you need to know about tuning in for the game.

Watch Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Valley on ESPN+ (Free Trial)

Here’s how to watch the Oregon Ducks vs. the Utah Valley Wolverines game today, including time, TV schedule and streaming information:

What channel is the Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Valley on today?

TV Channel: ESPNU/ESPN+

Livestream: ESPN+ (free trial)

The Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Valley game will be broadcast on ESPNU and via the streaming service ESPN+. The game will be called by Roxy Bernstein and Wes Clements at PK Park in Eugene, Oregon.

Oregon Ducks vs. Utah Valley time today

• Date: Friday, May 30, 2025

• Start time: 6:00 p.m. PT

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This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Watch Oregon Ducks vs Utah Valley game today: TV channel, time

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court backed a multibillion-dollar oil railroad expansion in Utah Thursday in a ruling that scales back a key environmental law for projects around the country.

The 8-0 decision comes after an appeal to the high court from backers of the project, which is aimed at quadrupling oil production in the remote area of sandstone and sagebrush.

Environmental groups said the decision would have sweeping impacts on National Environmental Policy Act reviews. The Trump administration has already said it’s speeding up that process after the president vowed to boost U.S. oil and gas development.

The case centers on the Uinta Basin Railway, a proposed 88-mile (142-kilometer) expansion that would connect oil and gas producers to the broader rail network and allow them to access larger markets. Supporters have argued that streamlining environmental reviews would speed up development.

The justices reversed a lower court decision and restored a critical approval from federal regulators on the Surface Transportation Board. The project could still face additional legal and regulatory hurdles.

Environmental groups and a Colorado county had argued that regulators must consider a broad range of potential impacts when they consider new development, such as increased wildfire risk, the effect of additional crude oil production from the area and increased refining in Gulf states.

The justices, though, found that regulators were right to consider the direct effects of the project, rather than the wider upstream and downstream impact. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that courts should defer to regulators on “where to draw the line” on what factors to take into account. Four other conservative justices joined his opinion.

“Simply stated, NEPA is a procedural cross-check, not a substantive roadblock,” he wrote of the policy act reviews. “The goal of the law is to inform agency decision making, not to paralyze it.”

The court’s conservative majority court has taken steps to curtail the power of federal regulators in other cases, including striking down the decades-old Chevron doctrine that made it easier for the federal government to set a wide range of regulations.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the outcome, but with a narrower legal reasoning. In a decision joined by her two liberal colleagues, she said the court could have simply cleared the way for the railway approval by finding the board didn’t need to take into account any harm caused by the oil that might eventually be carried on the railway.

Justice Neil Gorsuch did not participate in the case after facing calls to step aside over ties to Philip Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire whose ownership of oil wells in the area means he could benefit if the project goes through. Gorsuch, as a lawyer in private practice, had represented Anschutz.

The ruling comes after President Donald Trump’s vow to boost U.S. oil and gas drilling and move away from former President Joe Biden’s focus on climate change. The administration announced last month it’s speeding up environmental reviews of projects required under the same law at the center of the Utah case, compressing a process that typically takes a year or more into just weeks.

“The court’s decision gives agencies a green light to ignore the reasonably foreseeable consequences of their decisions and avoid confronting them,” said Sambhav Sankar, senior vice president of programs at Earthjustice.

Wendy Park, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said opponents would continue to fight the Utah project. “This disastrous decision to undermine our nation’s bedrock environmental law means our air and water will be more polluted, the climate and extinction crises will intensify, and people will be less healthy,” she said.

The project’s public partner applauded the ruling. “It represents a turning point for rural Utah — bringing safer, sustainable, more efficient transportation options, and opening new doors for investment and economic stability,” said Keith Heaton, director of the Seven County Infrastructure Coalition.

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Associated Press writer Hannah Schoenbaum in Salt Lake City contributed to this story.