GAME RECAP: Utes Blank Aztecs in Dominant Shutout

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Utah Utes flipped the script in a big way Saturday night.

After dropping an 8-4 decision to San Diego on Friday, the Utes rolled into Tony Gwynn Stadium and delivered a complete-team beatdown of San Diego State, shutting out the Aztecs 7-0 in the second game of the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.

Nevan Noonan — the former SDSU standout now wearing Utah red — set the tone on the very first pitch he saw in the top of the first. He turned on a fastball and sent a solo home run screaming over the wall in left-center for a quick 1-0 lead. Sweet revenge.

Utah stayed patient and then exploded in the fourth. Cameron Gurney stepped in and crushed a two-run bomb to straightaway center, stretching the advantage to 3-0.

From there it was all about the arms.

Payton Riske was filthy on the mound, carving through the SDSU lineup for 5⅔ scoreless innings. He scattered just a couple of hits, walked almost nobody, and handed the ball to the bullpen with a comfortable cushion. Cameron Nielson and the rest of the Utah relief corps slammed the door the rest of the way. The Aztecs managed only three hits all night and never put together anything resembling a threat.

The Utes weren’t finished adding on. They tacked on single runs in the seventh and eighth to make it 5-0, then pushed across two more in the ninth to turn a comfortable win into a 7-0 statement shutout.

Utah’s offense showed balance all night, and the pitching staff — led by Riske’s gem — was locked in from start to finish. This was exactly the response head coach Bill Kinneberg and the Utes were looking for after Friday’s tough loss.

The Utes improve to 3-2 and will close out the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament on Sunday against Creighton. First pitch is set for 11 a.m. PT at Tony Gwynn Stadium.