Standing in the middle of Smith’s Ballpark, Utah freshman shortstop Matt Richardson barked at an Oregon State baserunner for what Richardson considered a dirty slide. No matter that Richardson is a soft-spoken 160-pounder going up against a Beavers team ranked No. 1 in the country.
Nothing escalated beyond words between the teams before play resumed. The Utes, who entered the series with four wins all season, won that game and eventually two out of three games in the series to knock the Beavers down the national rankings, a bright spot in a season full of losses.
The Utes, having reached the halfway point of conference play, entered this weekend’s series against Arizona with a record of 10-28 overall and 5-11 in the Pac-12.