close
close

Rising returns to the football field for Utah

Cameron Rising is back.

The former Newbury Park High quarterback returned to the field at Rice-Eccles Stadium last Saturday for the first time since suffering a knee injury against Penn State in the 2023 Rose Bowl.

Utah fans responded with a standing ovation at the Utes' annual “22 Forever” spring game.

“It was a little surreal,” Rising told the Desert News after the game. “Just kidding. I'm just really grateful for the support from the fans. It was a tough year last year. It was just amazing to have that.”

Rising responded to that gesture by leading the red team to a 41-21 victory over the white team, completing 15 of 19 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns.

“It’s nice to be back out there with the guys making plays,” Rising said. “We’re not where we need to be for the season yet, but we’re getting there.”

Rising led the Red team to score on all three possessions, finding Money Parks for two TD passes and connecting with USC transfer Dorian Singer five times for 92 yards.

“Exactly what we were hoping for,” head coach Kyle Whittingham told the Salt Lake Tribune. “He was precise. He moved well in the pocket. Had great pocket presence, which he always does. Made his progress quickly and got the ball out on time.

“I really couldn’t have asked for anything more than what he gave us today.”

After back-to-back Pacific 12 Conference championships with Rising at the helm, Utah slipped to 8-5 last year as four different quarterbacks combined for just 15 touchdown passes.

The Utes open their first season in the Big 12 Conference on August 29th against Southern Utah, and their first conference match is on September 21st at Oklahoma State.

This will be Rising's sixth and final season in Salt Lake City, all under the leadership of offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig

“I definitely feel like I have a PhD,” Rising joked. “Six years to prove it.”

To the rescue

After losing top prospect Spencer Strider to injury, the Atlanta Braves turned to Darius Vines to fill the rotation spot of one of Major League Baseball's best pitchers.

The former three-sport star from St. Bonaventure High made his third major league start Monday night in Houston, allowing just one run and four hits in 4.2 innings.

“This lineup is really good from one through nine,” the former Oxnard College star said on the Braves postgame show on Bally Sports South. “Just being able to make things happen and get them to chase my pitches… and get out there felt great.”

Vines induced a double play from Yordan Alvarez to help him get out of a jam in the first inning. He also retired Astros stars Alvarez, Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman in the third inning, going 1-2-3.

“That felt pretty good,” Vines said of the double play.

Vines narrowly missed out on his second MLB win. The Braves have won all three games he started for them.

“Any time I can give this team a chance to win, we try to do that,” Vines said. “We’re trying to win ball games here.”

Things get off to a hot start

The Thousand Oaks boys started the minor league season strong.

Jacob Wilson, Max Muncy and Roc Riggio, who played for Wilson's father, Jack, at Thousand Oaks High, have pounced on opposing pitchers this season.

Wilson, the Athletics' No. 6 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is 10 for 23 (.435) with two doubles, a home run and two steals in six games for the Double-A Midland RockHounds.

Riggio, a fourth-round pick by the Yankees last summer, has reached base 12 times in his first six games with the High-A Hudson Valley Renegades, batting .294 with two doubles and a triple.

Muncy, the A's 2021 first-round pick, may be playing against himself shortly before his major league debut.

Muncy is batting .293 with a .396 on-base percentage and a .463 batting average in 12 games with the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators. He has four doubles and a home run.

Two of those doubles came from three-time Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander, who was rehabbing with the Sugarland Space Cowboys when Muncy went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 10-6 win on April 7.

Oakland starting shortstop Nick Allen is batting .167 in 14 games.

Joe Curley writes the Local Chatter column for the Star. He can be reached at [email protected]. For more coverage, follow @vcsjoecurley on TwitterInstagram and Facebook.

Tags:

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *