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- TCU defeated Utah 8-6 in extra innings at Smith's Ballpark's final game.
- Utah rallied from a 5-1 deficit, forcing extra innings before TCU prevailed.
- Smith's Ballpark will be repurposed; Utes move to a new stadium by 2026.
SALT LAKE CITY — Smith's Ballpark didn't want to see baseball end.
In what is expected to be the last baseball game ever played at the iconic baseball venue in downtown Salt Lake City, it took some extra innings to get to the end of a game between Utah and TCU that lasted four hours and three minutes.
In the end, though, TCU was just a bit better to outlast the home team on senior night in an 8-6 result in 11 innings at Smith's Ballpark.
Even the impending rain seemed to agree for more baseball as the threatening storm held off above the stadium — and for all the fans and players that stayed after to walk the warning track, take pictures and collect dirt from the field.
To even get to extra innings, though, Utah needed some late-game heroics in a game where TCU came out swinging.
Facing a 5-1 deficit going into the seventh inning, Utah made its move with a three-run rally to narrow the deficit on back-to-back singles by Austen Roellig and Core Jackson to right field to score runs in consecutive order.
Following a double steal by Utah to get runners in scoring position, Utah capped off the inning with another run on a wild pitch by TCU to make it a one-run game.
Utah tied up the game in the bottom of the ninth on a line drive single to right field by Tyler Quinn to send Roellig home and runners on third and first with two outs. Quinn then got to second on defensive indifference, setting up a walk-off scenario in the team's final game of the season.
But batter Kaden Carpenter — who went 2-of-6, had an RBI and recorded a double — went down swinging to send the game to extra innings, giving the visitors another chance to pile on more runs.
Utah allowed a run in the top of the 10th on a wild pitch, but answered back in the bottom of the inning with a hard single by Long that narrowly missed the shortstop and rolled into left field to send Drake Digiorno home for the tying run.
Again, Utah went down swinging to miss another winning opportunity and send the game to the 11th.
TCU capitalized on its opportunity against a Utah bullpen that struggled to get anything at the plate and put up two runs on a bases loaded walk and then a sac fly to right center to add another.
In the bottom of the inning, Utah had no answer and had three quick outs on four batters to end the Smith's Ballpark era for baseball.
"Appreciate everything that Smith's field has meant to the Utes, and everything it's been to baseball in Salt Lake City," Utes head coach Gary Henderson said. "So I'm proud to be a part of the last game that was played here."
"Smith's is a beautiful ballpark," Carpenter added. "It's a blessing to be here and for everyone that has allowed us to be here. We're truly grateful for all those people that made it happen. But we're ready for the next thing, and that's what this life is about. This is what this journey is about."
The Utes leave their home of nearly 30 years and will transition to their own stadium on campus that will be ready ahead of the 2026 season. But even as the players look to the future, Smith's Ballpark remains a place in baseball history — one that Carpenter hopes the city still honors.
"I think it means a lot and I really hope they do something productive with this area and this space, because it's brought a lot of joy to a lot of families lives, including mine," Carpenter said. "Even today, I'm in the outfield and I have kids on the berm who are talking about how they've watched me for three years and that just is so beyond me and that's perspective, for sure.
"I think if they can do something productive with this ballpark, I think it's going to be a great attribute for downtown Salt Lake."
The city took ownership of the ballpark last year and allowed the Utes to play another season as the Charlie Monfort Field at America First Ballpark was built. The 31-year-old stadium will be "repurposed" as an entertainment venue that will also feature retail spaces.
Salt Lake City Erin Mendenhall said in January that it will feature a "mixed-use urban space and a safe community park."
