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A banger weekend or Jake Long, racking up seven extra-base hits, driving in eight runs, and completing the third cycle in Utah baseball history on Sunday.
He saw the ball exceptionally well all week, posting just a 3.8% in-zone whiff rate while producing a 55.6% hard-hit rate.
Sunday marked a true career performance, as Long went 5-for-6 with the cycle and two home runs, both coming on the first pitch of his first two at-bats. Home run number one especially stood out, traveling 444 feet with a 106 mph exit speed.
Across 18 batted balls on the weekend, Long averaged a 92.5 mph exit speed while running a fly ball rate north of 60%. Notably, he also did not record a single whiff against left-handed pitching over the four-game stretch.
Now leading Utah in at-bats, SLG, and OPS, Long is emerging as one of the top bats in the western region. Jake will be back in action for Utah on the road this coming Thursday against Kansas.
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Another arm turning in their best start of 2026 was southpaw Ethan Norby, going seven scoreless on the road against a gritty UTSA offense.
Working with a four-pitch mix over the weekend, Norby had all of them operating effectively. He primarily attacked with his four-seam fastball, sitting 90–93 mph and touching 94. Released from a lower slot hovering around five feet that generates nearly 12 inches of ride, giving hitters a unique look.
His best pitch, though, was the slider; his go-to weapon living 79–82 mph. It gets roughly 12 inches of sweep with elite spin rates, averaging 3,000 RPM (peaking at 3,340 on Friday), and generated a whiff rate north of 50% to go along with a 40% chase rate, making it one of the more dominant offerings at the mid-major level.