EUGENE, Oreg. — Jimmy De Anda drove in three runs with a double and a single, sparking Utah Valley’s 6-5 victory over Oregon in the Eugene Regional on Friday night.

No. 4 seed Utah Valley (33-27) will face second-seeded Arizona in the winner’s bracket on Saturday. Regional host Oregon (42-15) will play Cal Poly in a loser-out game. Arizona defeated Cal Poly 3-2 in Friday’s other game.

Utah Valley’s four-run third inning featured De Anda’s run-scoring double down the left-field line followed by Luke Iverson’s RBI single to right and a two-run single by Mason Strong for a 4-0 lead.

Oregon scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth, getting a two-run home run from Drew Smith and a solo shot by Anson Aroz.

De Anda’s two-run single made it 6-3 in the seventh.

Smith added a solo shot in the eighth, giving him two home runs and three RBIs for the game. With a runner on base and two outs in the ninth he struck out to end the game.

Carston Herman (5-3) got the win and Cooper Littledike earned his sixth save.

Jason Reitz (5-1) took the loss.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Griffin will join Beth Launiere and crew as the Utes prepare to pick up where they left off last season making their 19^th NCAA appearance, and finishing the year ranked No. 17 in the country. Griffin spent the past two seasons with Utah’s beach volleyball program before making the move to indoor.

“We’re so excited to have Langley join the Utah Volleyball Indoor program,” said Launiere. “She is a tremendous athlete and competitor which allowed her to be one of the best beach players in the country. These attributes, as well as her over skill set gained from playing beach will transfer well back into the indoor game, where she began playing the sport of volleyball.”

The 6-foot talent proved to be a commodity early in her beach volleyball career as a freshman, tallying 18 wins for an overall record of 18-16 with her partner Katie McAlister. Throughout the 2024 season, Griffin helped the potent pair post win streaks of six, five, and four through various matches. She also aided in giving the Utes their first top-20 win in program history over No. 19 Arizona going 19-21, 21-16, and 15-13 against the Wildcats.

Griffin’s dominance continued in her sophomore year, helping Utah to their best season in program history, winning 35 of her matches for a 23-11-1 final record that included an eight-match win streak with partner Bella Vezzani and 3-0 victory over Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament to move on to the semifinal round.

Before coming to Utah, Griffin was a standout athlete at Peninsula High School in Tacoma, Washington where she excelled as an outside hitter/opposite hitter for her indoor volleyball team, lettering all four years of her high school career. Additionally, Griffin earned league MVP and first team all-state honors in both her senior and junior years in 2022 and 2021.

Griffin was also a standout on her track and field team as a three-time letter winner in the high jump, pole vault, and the 4×200 meter race, and placed third in her district for the 4×200 and high jump.

Griffin is slated to join the Utes as a pin attacker in 2025.
 

The company historically doesn’t confirm new stores until they’re about to open.

Another Trader Joe’s grocery store likely is coming to Utah.

Utah’s liquor commission, in its monthly meeting Thursday, approved an off-premises beer retailer license for a Trader Joe’s in Holladay.

The new store will be located at 1895 E. Rodeo Walk Drive, according to its liquor license application, said Michelle Schmitt, spokesperson for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services.

The location is part of a development being built on the site of the former Cottonwood Mall, which was demolished in 2008.

What’s not known is when the new store will open. The company historically does not confirm or deny rumors of new store locations, and only announces openings shortly before they happen.

Nakia Rohde, a spokesperson for Trader Joe’s, said in a statement that “at this time, we do not have a location confirmed in Holladay.”

Rohde’s statement said that the company is “actively looking at hundreds of neighborhoods across the country as we hope to open more new neighborhood stores each year.”

The statement is nearly identical to one Rohde issued in December, after the mayor of Riverdale announced that a Trader Joe’s store was coming to that Weber County town this summer. The opening date for that store is not listed yet on the company’s website.

The last Trader Joe’s store to open in Utah was in Sugar House last October. The grocery chain also has stores in Cottonwood Heights, Draper, Orem and near downtown Salt Lake City. The Riverdale and Holladay locations would bring the total of the company’s Utah stores to seven.