Sean Keating's one-out single in the bottom of the ninth lifted Utah Tech to a wild 10-9 walk-off victory over in-state rival BYU on Tuesday night at Bruce Hurst Field.
With the win, the Trailblazers closed their season opening 13-game homestand with a 5-8 record.
The win looked like it was not in the cards as the Cougars (4-8) scored six first inning runs, only to see the Blazers follow suit with six runs of their own in their first swings to reset the game.
In all, the two teams combined to score 12 runs on four hits, one error, eight walks, two hit batters, three wild pitches, one passed ball, two pitching changes and 19 total plate appearances in a 47-minute opening frame.
Things seemed to settle down from there as the game remained in a 6-6 deadlock until the BYU sixth when the Cougars struck one run and threatened for more with two runners on base and only one out. However Utah Tech limited BYU to the lone run when reliever
Carsten Herman induced a inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
The Trailblazers would take their first lead of the night in the home sixth, turning a lead-off hit batter and a BYU error into two runs to jump out in front at 8-7.
BYU answered with a pair of runs in the seventh, while Utah Tech pulled even after the stretch when pinch runner
Levi Randall went first to third on consecutive wild pitches and scored on passed ball.
The game remained tied at 9-9 in the bottom of the ninth when
Chase Rodriguez and
Parker Schmidt both singled ahead of Keating, who lined a 3-2 Jake Porter (L, 0-3) fastball to center field to drive home Rodriguez carrying the winning run.
The Trailblazers rapped out seven hits on the night, with
Blake Borgogno collecting two of those safeties to go with an RBI and two runs scored. Junior righthander
Brett Porthan (W, 2-1), who appeared out of the bullpen for the first time this season, earned his second-straight decision after he pitched a spotless ninth inning.
Utah Tech will hit the road for the first time this season as the Trailblazers head to Stillwater for a four-game weekend series at No. 13 Oklahoma State.
