The way it started, Arizona’s final road series of the season had the potential to torpedo its chances of a Pac-12 title. The way it finished has put the Wildcats on the cusp of conference crown.
The UA scored eight runs in the 5th and 6th innings en route to a 10-4 win at Utah on Sunday night, taking the series and reducing its magic number to one.
Arizona (32-18, 19-8) will take a 1.5-game lead on Oregon State (39-12, 17-9) into next weekend’s series at Hi Corbett Field, needing to win only one game against the Beavers to clinch its second regular-season title in the last four years and earn the No. 1 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament. The UA has won 10 consecutive conference games at home.
The UA hit three more home runs, giving it 10 on the 4-game road trip after hitting only 42 in its first 46 games. Andrew Cain’s 2-run homer tied the game at 2 in the 5th, part of seven consecutive batters to reach base with two out, with Garen Caulfield giving the Wildcats the lead for good with a 2-run single with the bases loaded and Brendan Summerhill following with an RBI single for a 5-2 lead.
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After Utah (31-18, 16-11) scored in the bottom of the 5th to get back within two, Maddox Mihalakis opened the 6th with a solo shot and the UA added two more 2-out runs on a Mason White single and a bases loaded walk to Summerhill.
Summerhill would add a 2-run homer in the 9th to go 3 for 4 with four RBI.
Arizona was outhit 12-11 but drew six walks and had two batters hit, with five of those free passes scoring during that 8-run push in the middle innings.
Cam Walty allowed three runs and nine hits over five innings, including a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the 1st, but worked out of trouble multiple times to pick up his conference-leading 8th victory. Five relievers followed, with Eric Orloff, Tony Pluta, Jaeden Swanberg and Kyler Heyne combining to hold the Utes scoreless over the final three innings.
The UA and Oregon State begin the season-ending series Thursday at 6 p.m. PT at Hi Corbett. Expected to be on the mound for the Beavers is right-hander Aiden May, who was in the Wildcats’ starting rotation last season before transferring.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mikhail Sergachev scored 4:48 into overtime to lift the Utah Hockey Club to a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday night.
Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz scored for Utah in the third period to force overtime. Karel Vejmelka made 24 saves. Logan Cooley added two assists.
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Danton Heinen and Dakota Joshua scored for Vancouver, and Thatcher Demko stopped 28 shots. Quinn Hughes assisted on both goals.
Takeaways
Utah: Utah is now on a three-game winning streak.
Canucks: The overtime loss put them in a four-way tie on points (31) for first place in the Pacific Division along with the Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights.
Key moment
Schmaltz tied the game at 2-2 on a power play with 4:30 to play, after Utah trailed 2-0 earlier in the period.
Key stat
Utah won just its second game this season when trailing after the second period, improving to 2-10-3. It was Vancouver’s first loss of the season when leading after the second.
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The Canucks visit the Golden Knights on Thursday, while the Utah Hockey Club will visit the Wild on Friday.
A day after keeping one of its current cornerbacks from the transfer portal, Alabama is now adding to its future secondary. The Crimson Tide received a commitment from Utah cornerback transfer Cameron Calhoun on Wednesday. The rising sophomore will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Calhoun started one game over 11 appearances during his debut season this fall. The 6-foot, 177-pound defender led Utah with nine pass breakups to go with an interception. He also tallied 21 tackles, including one for a loss.
Calhoun, a Cincinnati native, originally signed with Michigan as a four-star recruit in the 2023 class before transferring to Utah. He was a high school teammate with Alabama freshman signee Justin Hill.
Alabama lost cornerback Jahlil Hurley (Kansas) and safety DeVonta Smith to the transfer portal earlier this month. The Tide nearly saw cornerback Jaylen Mbakwe enter as well. However, the five-star freshman had a change of heart and elected to return to the team.
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Both of Alabama’s starting cornerbacks from this season, Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown, are eligible to return next year. Jackson, a rising senior will have a draft decision to make, while Brown is coming off a promising freshman campaign. The Tide also returns former Wake Forest transfer DaShawn Jones, a rising redshirt senior, who saw plenty of action both at cornerback and in the Husky role.
The addition of Calhoun ensures Alabama is covered in the event Jackson elects to depart for the draft. Regardless, the Utah transfer provides the Tide with more experienced depth in the secondary.
Police in Utah are investigating the deaths of five people from the same family who were found dead inside their home.
The West Valley City Police Department shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) that officers were investigating a homicide after they found “five people deceased” and one teenager injured inside a home on the 3700 block of Oxford Way — which is located about 9 miles from Salt Lake City.
The five people who were found deceased included two adults, a 42-year-old male, a 38-year-old female, an 11-year-old boy, a 9-year-old girl and a 2-year-old girl. Police noted that their “initial information” indicated that they were all related and lived together.
Authorities said their investigation began when they were contacted by a family member on Monday, Dec. 16 who had voiced their “concerns” to police after “they had not heard from the woman who lives in the home” after visiting a few days prior.
Officers then visited the property and attempted to “make contact” with the family. However, when they arrived and knocked at the door, “no one answered,” so officers looked inside the windows of the home and “spoke to neighbors.”
“They did not find any indications of an emergency or crime so they asked the family member to keep in contact,” police said in their statement.
When one of the deceased did not show up for work on Tuesday, Dec. 17, the concerned family member decided to enter the garage of the home to check if everyone was okay. While there, she found a 17-year-old family male member suffering from “an apparent gunshot wound” and called the police.
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Officers responded to the scene just after 2 p.m., and the 17-year-old was transported to the hospital. West Valley City police spokesperson Roxeanne Vainuku described his injuries as “significant” in a press conference, per KTVX and NBC News.
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“He’s in a condition where we’ve not really been able to communicate with him,” Vainuku said, per NBC News. His exact condition was unknown, per the outlet.
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After searching the house, authorities found the five other bodies. However, police did not say how they may have died.
Vainuku described the scene as “absolutely horrific,” and added that it “is something that certainly will weigh heavily on investigators in this case.”
Police said in a statement that they “obtained a search warrant for the home” and investigators had started their investigation inside the home.
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“Officers also have canvassed the neighborhood gathering information and any video evidence,” they added.
“At this time, we believe this incident is isolated to this home,” police continued.