Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 7 p.m.
Saturday - 6 p.m.
Sunday - 1 p.m.
Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | CBU
Live Streaming: ESPN+ G1 | ESPN+ G2 | ESPN+ G3
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3
Twitter: @UtahTech_Sports | @UtahTechMBB | #UtahTechBlazers | #WACmbb | #WAChoops | #WACvegas

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #18 Brett Porthan (3-2, 6.61 ERA) vs. RHP #14 Spencer Bengard (1-1, 6.04 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – LHP #6 Carsten Herman (2-2, 6.41 ERA) vs. RHP #24 Liam Rocha (3-0, 3.56 ERA)
Sunday (G3) – RHP #45 Carson Angeroth (1-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. RHP #34 Carson Olsen (0-1,6.75 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: Utah Tech (7-18/2-4 WAC) begins a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play eight-straight, and 12 of its next 15 games on the road, starting this weekend in Riverside with a three-game WAC series at California Baptist (12-13/5-4 WAC).
        Friday's series opener will begin at 6 p.m. (PT), followed by game two on Saturday at 5 p.m. (PT), and Sunday's series finale at 12 noon (PT), at James W. Totman Stadium (800) on the CBU campus.

HI MY NAME IS...: The Trailblazers began the 2023 season with a new institutional name - Utah Tech University. This past July 1, the university re-branded to the new moniker, replacing "Dixie State University," while the "Trailblazers" nickname remained in place.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Utah Tech owns a slim 25-23 all-time series lead vs. California Baptist, which dates back to when both programs were members of the Pacific West Conference.
        The Trailblazers have won 11 of the last 14 meetings vs. the Lancers overall, which includes taking two of three from the Lancers in final series of the 2022 season played in Riverside (5/19-21). 
        Utah Tech also split a four-game home WAC series in St. George in the 2021 campaign. That series was the first between the two former PacWest rivals since the 2018 season, when the Trailblazers took three of four from the Lancers at Bruce Hurst Field. 
        Following that 2018 series, CBU began its NCAA Division I transition and joined the WAC, while Utah Tech went on to play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference for two seasons before starting its own NCAA D-I transition in the 2020-21 athletic year.

UTAH TECH ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB: All Utah Tech home games, along with all WAC away games, this season will be streamed live online on either WAC International (wacinternational.tv) or ESPN+ (plus.espn.com).

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his 11th season as head coach of the Utah Tech Baseball program. During his tenure in the UT dugout, Pfatenhauer led the Trailblazers to consecutive PacWest titles in 2014 and 2015, and to five-straight trips to the NCAA West Regionals from 2013-17, including serving as the host institution in 2013. 
        Pfatenhauer, who picked up his 300th victory as UT skipper in the 2022 season finale at California Baptist (14-8; 5/21/2022), owns a 307-211-1 (.592) overall record at Utah Tech, and a 359-270-1 (.570) career mark. 
        Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is first-year pitching coach Justin Hixson (Cal State San Bernardino, 2006), along with ninth-year assistant coaches Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014) and Matt Hill (Utah Tech 2015). 

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech saw its losing skid reach four-straight after dropping all three games of a WAC weekend series to Stephen F. Austin at Bruce Hurst Field. Two of the three losses came in extra innings, including a 13-10 loss in 10 innings in game one last Friday night, and a 6-5 defeat in 10 innings in Sunday's finale, which bookended a 17-9 SFA win game two on Saturday. 

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED EIGHTH IN WAC PRESEASON POLL: Utah Tech was picked to finish eighth in the Western Athletic Conference as the league office announced its 2023 baseball preseason poll on Feb. 9.
        Grand Canyon received 10 first-place votes and 141 voting points to top the 2023 preseason coaches poll. Sam Houston received the final three first-place votes to finish second with 131 points, while California Baptist collected 115 points to claim the third spot. 
        A log jam makes up the next three spots as Abilene Christian (100 pts), UTRGV (100 pts) and Sacramento State (100 pts) all tied for fourth place. Meanwhile defending WAC tournament champion New Mexico State (88 pts) wound up seventh, with Utah Tech (54 pts), WAC newcomer UT Arlington (47 pts) and Tarleton (40 pts) rounding out the top 10.
        Utah Tech also enters the upcoming season eligible to compete at the 2023 WAC Baseball Championship Tournament, which will be held May 24-28 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.

HOME SWEET HOME: Utah Tech has played to a 304-133 (.695) overall record in 437 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since the start of its four-year era in the 2007 season.
        The Trailblazers are off to an uncharacteristic 7-12 start at home this season, which includes the SFA series loss last weekend. However Utah Tech did collect its 300th NCAA-era home victory in their 12-4 series-opening win over Wichita State back on Feb. 22. 
        Utah Tech started the 2022 season winners of seven of its first 10 home games, but when the calendar turned to April, that record flipped to 4-8, though the Blazers did manage to salvage the home finale vs. Utah (W, 9-4; 5/11/22) to even their home mark at 11-11 for the year. 
        UT has posted a winning home record in 15 of 16 seasons since transitioning to NCAA status in 2007, and has won 20 or more home games in eight of those 16 seasons overall, including 21-5 (.807) record in 2017, and a 24-6 mark (.800) in 2016, which was the second-best home record in terms of wins in the program's NCAA era (26-7 in 2009). 
         The 24 home wins in 2016 were the most under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, while the .807 winning percentage in 2017 was the best W% in Pfatenhauer's tenure.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Despite the 0-6 road start to the 2023 season, Utah Tech has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers have played to a 168-182-1 overall road record (.480) in its four-year era, which included an 11-22 road mark last season, though they did end the year winning three of their final four road dates. 
        UT had posted a winning road record in eight of their last 13 seasons overall, highlighted by a 16-7-1 road mark in 2017. The 16 road wins were the most since beginning NCAA play in 2007.
        In 2015, Utah Tech went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750), and UT has won at least 10 road games in nine of its last 10 seasons overall. When you also figure in neutral-site games (14-11 in 25 games), Utah Tech is 181-187-1 (.492) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.

JUST WIN BABY: Utah Tech did something last year that it had not done in its entire NCAA era - post consecutive sub-.500 season records. UT ended its first NCAA D-I season in 2021 with a 24-32 overall record, which was followed by last year's 22-33 mark.
        Prior to the 2021 campaign, Utah Tech had played to a winning record in 13 of its previous 14 seasons, with the lone exception coming in 2018, when the Trailblazers came away with an even 25-25 mark. In fact, Utah Tech has reached the 30-win plateau 10 times in 16 seasons of NCAA play overall, which included nine-straight seasons from 2009 to 2017.
        Utah Tech has won 35 of more games in a season four times under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, highlighted by 39 wins in 2017 and a four-year program record 40 victories (40-14) in 2016, The 2016 campaign also included a record-breaking 10-0 start to begin the season, which was the best overall start in the program's NCAA-era.

HERE'S TO THE NEXT 400: Utah Tech picked up its 400th win in the program's NCAA era in the series opener vs. UCCS (6-1) on March 16, 2019. UT is currently 486-326-1 (.598) all-time through 16-plus years of NCAA competition (813 games). 

BEST IN STATE?: Utah Tech got the in-state portion of its 2023 schedule off on the right foot with a 10-9 walk-off victory over BYU in the final game of its 13-game, season-opening homestand this past March 7.
        The win did not look like it was in the offing after the Cougars struck for six first inning runs. However the Blazers matched BYU with six runs of their own in the home first, then kept pace with the Cougars until the bottom of the ninth, when with two outs in the bottom of the ninth Sean Keating singled home the winning run.
        That win also marked the second time in three seasons that Utah Tech had walked off BYU at Bruce Hurst Field (5-4; 3/16/21).
        Utah Tech finished the in-state portion of its 2022 slate with an even 5-5 record, splitting all three series against the other three Utah D-I schools (BYU 1-1; Utah 1-1; Utah Valley 3-3).
        In UT's D-I debut season in 2021, the Trailblazers posted a combined 6-2 mark against their in-state foes, going 4-0 vs. fellow WAC member UVU, along with home-at-home splits vs. both BYU and Utah.

FREE BASEBALL: After not playing an extra inning game in two full seasons in 2019 and 2020, Utah Tech has played in 12 extra inning affairs since its move to Division I, all of which have come over the Blazers' 102 games, including three this season - all at home.
        Unfortunately for the Trailblazers, they came out on the short end of all three of those games, two of which came last weekend vs. SFA. UT also fell in 10 innings in game two vs Wichita State last month (L, 3-5; 2/24).
        The Trailblazers are currently 4-8 in extra inning games during their D-I transition, and 35-23 (.603) overall in 58 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era. UT is 17-13 in 10-inning games, and the program has won nine of its last 19 extra inning games overall. 

THE FISHER (HR) KING: Senior Tyson Fisher became Utah Tech's career home run leader in the series finale vs. Portland (2/19) with the first of his two two-run homers he connected on as part of a 3-for-4 day with five RBI. 
        Fisher moved past his former teammate Jake Engel (2017-21), who hit 32 home runs during his storied All-American career.
        Fisher launched his record-breaking 33rd career HR on a 1-0 pitch in the bottom of the third, then struck for his second long ball one inning later on a 2-1 offering. The senior's two-homer game was the third of his career - all of which have come over the past two seasons. Fisher went yard twice in a road win at Sacramento State early last season (3/12/22), then repeated the feat nearly two months later at home vs. NM State (5/1/22).

FISHER ON A POWER SURGE: Dating back to last year, Fisher has been on quite the home run tear, having gone big fly in eight of his last 29 games, including four games this season. Last year he became the first player in the program's NCAA era to hit home runs in four-straight games, doing so in each of Utah Tech's final four games, three of which against this weekend's opponent in CBU.
        Fisher batted .357 (5-for-14) over those final four games with seven RBI and six runs scored to finish the year with a .302 average along with 11 homers, 22 total XBH, and 33 RBI. In addition, he hit safely in 20 of his final 23 games and batted .372 (32-for-86) over that stretch.
        The senior OF is also one of seven Trailblazers in UT's four-year era to hit homers in three-straight games, and is the second player to do it twice. In addition to last year's feat, Fisher posted a three-game streak late in the 2021 season (5/16-21), while former outfielder Tyson Littlewood did it in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Engel added his name to the list in 2019, joining fellow All-American Brett Adams (2010) along with former Blazers Kevin Cline (2013), Mark Rose (2008) and Frans Meyer (2008). 

FISHING FOR MORE HISTORY: Now that he sits atop the career HR list with 37 and counting, Fisher has several more career records in sight as he continues through his final season. His team-leading 19 RBI this season leaves him needing only 15 more to pass both Engel (147) and Adams (147) become UT's career RBI leader (fourth with 133).
        In addition, he stands second in total bases (339), fourth in at bats (609), fifth in triples (6) and runs (136), sixth in SLG% (.557) and doubles (35), and seventh in hits (181) and stolen bases (23).

LEADING THE HURD: Freshman OF Bryker Hurdsman has wasted little time making an impact as he currently co-leads the team in doubles (7), SLG% (.523) and stolen bases (3), and is second in batting (.323), RBI (15), runs (18), and hits (21) through his first 21 collegiate games batting primarily in the lead-off spot in the order.
        Hurdsman has hit safely in 14 of his 21 games played, including seven of his last 10 overall, with five two-hit games and a 3-for-4 day with a double and an RBI in game three of the Oklahoma State series (3/11). He also homered and drove in a career-high four runs in UT's series opening win vs. Wichita State (2/22).  

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS
* - Junior 3B Shane Taylor currently leads the WAC in walks with 23, including five free passes last weekend vs. SFA ... Taylor's five walks vs. SFA vaulted him into second place on UT's career walks list (96), and he now stands four walks shy of becoming the second Blazer in program history to draw at least 100 walks (126, Yuto Kata; 2012-16). 
* - Taylor, who has hit safely in a career-high seven-straight games, hit .308 (4-for-13) in the SFA series with a pair of doubles, his second HR of the year, four runs and three RBI. 
* - Taylor had quite the series against NM State two weeks ago, against which he batted an even .500 (6-for-12) with two doubles and a homer.
* - After getting off to a slow start, junior CF Chase Rodriguez has flipped the switch, batting .384 (15-of-39) over his last 17 games, including a .400 clip (4-for-10) in the SFA series, highlighted by his first collegiate two-HR game with four RBI in the series opener last Friday night.
* - Rodriguez also drew five walks in the SFA series, which helped elevate him to the top of the WAC rankings in OB% at .515 ... the junior also had a good series vs. NM State, against which he hit .375 (3-for-8) with a double, HR and three RBI. 
* - Not to be outdone, junior C/OF Parker Schmidt also homered twice and drove in four runs in the SFA series opener, and led Utah Tech with three total HRs and six RBI in the series overall. 
* - Junior RF Logan Jackson accounted for two of UT's four homers in the NM State series, both of which came leading off the fifth inning in games two and game three of the set ... Jackson wound up batting .429 (3-for-7) in the series with a team-high four RBI. 
* - Utah Tech has hit 25 of its 26 home runs this season at home, with senior 1B Sean Keating accounted for Blazers' lone road HR, which came in game three at Oklahoma State (3/11). 
* - Keating had himself a day in the series opener vs. Wichita State (2/22) when he became the second Trailblazer in the program's new D-I era to hit three home runs in one game ... Keating also drove in a career-high six runs in the win.
* - Keating joined former UT All-American Jake Engel on that exclusive list, which he established after he went yard three times at San Diego State (4/24/21) during the 2021 season.
* - Keating also became the second Trailblazer this season to hit homers in consecutive plate appearances, joining Fisher on the list, who did it in the series finale vs. Portland (2/19), while Rodriguez became the third player to do it in last Friday's series opener vs. SFA.
* - In fact, Utah Tech went back-to-back-to-back with the long ball in the third inning of G1 vs. Wichita as Hurdsman-Keating-Fisher all homered within four pitches of each other off of two different Shocker pitchers.
* - Utah Tech's three-consecutive home runs also marked the first time that occurred in the program's D-I transition ... the last time the Trailblazers hit three home runs in one inning came during the 2019 season in a 28-9 road rout of Adams State (3/10/19).
* - Junior RHP Brett Porthan enjoyed his best outing of the season in the series opener vs. NM State, against which he struck out a career-high eight and scattered two runs (one earned) and five hits over 7.0 solid innings en route to his third win of the season.
* - Porthan will move into t-fourth on UT's career starts list with his 28th when he toes the rubber on Friday night at CBU ... the junior also stands in eighth all-time in IP (151.1) and is ninth on UT's career strikeout (111) list. 
* - Sophomore southpaw Carsten Herman had himself quite the series vs. NM State as he collected his first two collegiate saves ... Herman combined to hurl 3.1 scoreless innings in the two appearances, striking out five while allowing only one hit.  
* - Junior RHP Carson Angeroth earned his first decision of the season in the series finale vs. NMSU (3/19) after he fired 3.2 innings of one-hit shutout baseball with three strikeouts.
* - Senior LHP Ben Hart has made a staff-high 10 relief appearances through 25 games this season to rise to second all-time in program history in games pitched at 61 ... Hart (98 K) also stands two strikeouts shy of becoming the 13th pitcher (and third this season) to record at least 100 strikeouts in UT's NCAA era. 

 

ABOUT THE CBU "LANCERS": California Baptist enters this weekend's series having split its last six games, though the Lancers have dropped three-straight after clinching a WAC home series win over Seattle U last weekend. 
        The Lancers began the week as the WAC leader in home runs with 34, with 17 of those coming from the top-two HR hitters in the conference in junior INF Mitchel Simon (9 HR; .330/24 RBI) and senior OF Dusty Garcia (8 HR; .209/25 RBI). 
        As a team, CBU averages 6.5 runs a game, while the Lancer pitching staff owns a 6.18 ERA and has struck out 205 in 217.0 IP. 

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech continues its road swing with a quick trip to Salt Lake City for a Tuesday mid-week game at Utah. First pitch at Smith's Ballpark is slated for 6 p.m.