Utah Celebrates Historic Home Opener With Shutout Victory
Mar 7, 2026, 9:14 AM
SALT LAKE CITY — For decades, Utah baseball waited for a home field like this. On Friday night, the Utes finally stepped onto it — and made sure the first chapter in the history of Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark was a memorable one.
Thanks to a dominant pitching effort and a decisive fifth-inning explosion, Utah rolled past Grand Canyon 9–0 in the inaugural game played at the new on-campus ballpark.
This was not the first game the Utes have ever played on campus; but given the home Utah baseball has now been provided with the new ballpark, it was remarkably special nonetheless.
LIGHT THE U
Such a special night on campus and we'll remember it forever.
Thank you to everyone who came out to the first ever game on Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/MKpg8n8hJo
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) March 7, 2026
A Historic Night on Guardsman Way
A crowd of 1,323 fans gathered for the historic first pitch at the new ballpark, witnessing Utah deliver a complete performance on the mound and at the plate.
The Utes outhit Grand Canyon 12–4 and struck for runs in three different innings, while the pitching staff held the Lopes scoreless throughout the night.
It was the kind of performance that allowed the significance of the moment to breathe.
For the first time in program history, Utah baseball opened a season at home — and the team rewarded the crowd with a shutout victory.
McAnelly Sets the Tone
Right-hander Colter McAnelly delivered the first dominant pitching performance in ballpark history.
The Utah starter worked six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out nine and walking three to earn the win.
McAnelly kept Grand Canyon off balance all night, helping strand multiple runners and ensuring the Lopes never found offensive rhythm.
Utah’s bullpen followed suit.
Dillon Fine tossed two scoreless innings, and Ian Culver closed the ninth as the Utes finished with 11 total strikeouts while limiting Grand Canyon to four hits.
The Game Breaks Open
Utah first cracked the scoreboard in the third inning.
After Daniel Arambula reached base, Jake Long lined an RBI single to center field to give the Utes the first run ever scored at America First Ballpark.
The game stayed tight until the fifth inning, when Utah turned the opener into a celebration.
The Utes sent nine hitters to the plate and scored six runs in the frame. The rally began with Luke Jacobs doubling and Cameron Gurney driving him in with a single.
From there the lineup kept rolling:
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Nevan Noonan added a sacrifice fly
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Cal Miller ripped a two-run double to right
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Matt Flaharty followed with a two-run single
By the end of the inning, Utah had turned a 1–0 game into a 7–0 lead.
Smith’s Blast Adds the Exclamation Point
Utah added the final punctuation, and pretty emphatically, in the seventh.
After a walk to Jet Gilliam, catcher Derek Smith crushed a 409-foot two-run homer, the first home run in the new ballpark’s history.
The blast pushed Utah’s lead to 9–0, sealing a dominant debut for the new stadium.
BOOM! Derek Smith got ALL OF THAT BALL ⚾️
🔥 409 feet
💣 109 mph off the bat
🏟️ First homerun in America First Ballpark
🪩 First HR light show at the new field 🕺📺ESPN+#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/fkEEBxb8Mb
— Utah Baseball (@utahbaseball) March 7, 2026
A New Era Begins
When the final out settled into a glove, Utah players gathered near the mound while fans lingered around the stands and berm — soaking in the significance of the moment.
The scoreboard read:
Utah 9, Grand Canyon 0
But the night meant more than a win. For the first time in a long time, Utah baseball played a home opener on its own campus — inside a modern facility built to anchor the program’s future in the Big 12 and beyond.
