THIS WEEK:
Utah Tech will head back on the road for their final tournament before conference play begins March 18th. This week the team will be back in California for the Fresno State Tournament. They will open the weekend Friday at 11:00AM taking o CSU Bakersfield. They will play a pair of games Saturday with a 4:30PM game against Maine and a 7:30 game against host Fresno State. They will play their final two games Sunday at 10:30 again taking on Maine and closing the weekend with a 1:00PM first pitch with UC Santa Barbara. For live stats and to watch the games go to UtahTechTrailblazers.com.


RUNNING BACK LAST WEEK:
Utah Tech had another successful  home tournament going 4-1. Behind a complete game shutout by Sauren Garton, they beat Pac-12 team Oregon State 1-0. The only loss of the season came in an extra innings 5-6 game vs Portland State. The Blazers bounced back as Garton threw her second complete game of the weekend beating UNLV 2-1. The Trailblazers finished the tournament with a pair of wins over Idaho State 15-5 and 6-5 respectively.


Sauren Garton was the star of the weekend. In the Circle she threw two complete games surrendering only one run, six hits, just one walk and struck out seven. She was the driving force in helping the Trailblazers take down Pac-12 foe Oregon state 1-0 and beating a red-hot UNLV team 2-1.


ROOT ROOT FOR THE HOME TEAM:
Utah Tech is 296-82 overall at home in the NCAA era.
The Trailblazers are 253-68 at home under head coach Randy Simkins.
The Blazers are a stellar 8-1 at Karl Brooks Field this season.


ON THE ROAD AGAIN:
Utah Tech is 179-106 overall on the road.
The Trailblazers are 157-85 on the road under head coach Randy Simkins.
During the 2023 season, UT is 5-5 away from Karl Brooks field.


RECORDS AND STANDINGS:
The Trailblazers enter the weekend with a 13-5 overall record. Sitting third in the WAC standings.

Coming into 2023, UT was picked No. 8 in the WAC Preseason Coaches Polls and had Hannah Hughbanks along with Shea Clements selected to the WAC Preseason All-Conference team.


AT THE PLATE:
The Trailblazers are hitting .316 with a .420 slugging percentage. The team has racked up 160 hits with 24 doubles, four triple, and seven home runs.


IN THE CIRCLE:
Trailblazers pitchers have a team ERA of 3.33. Opponents are hitting .270 with 137 hits and nine home runs. Utah Tech pitchers have combined for two shutout.


LEADING THE WAY:
The Trailblazers are led by Tanya Windle who is hitting .444 with 28 hits that include three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Windle has also napped one WAC player of the week honor. In the power category Lauren Almeida is the star with a slugging percentage of .667 and a team leading seven extra base hits including a triple and two home runs with a team leading 15 RBI.


In the circle the Trailblazers ace is Sauren Garton. She has pitched in eight games completing six of them with two shutouts. She has a team best 2.26 ERA while holding batters to a .213  batting average across 49.2 innings.


CONSISTENT SPOT:
This season there are seven Trailblazers that have playing in all 19 games and four who have started all 19 (Lauren Almeida, Carly Eldredge, Hannah Hughbanks, Tanya Windle.)


BIG WEEKS:
This week while she didn't win WAC pitcher of the week Sauren Garton had a noteworthy weekend in the circle. she threw two complete games surrendering only one run, six hits, just one walk and struck out seven. She was the driving force in helping  the Trailblazers take down Pac-12 foe Oregon state 1-0 and beating a red-hot UNLV team 2-1.


In the week of Feb 27th Hannah Hughbanks won WAC player of the week going 7-11 with 6 walks, 8 runs scored, 10 RBI and two home runs. She is the second Trailblazer to win the award this season.


Back in the first week of the season Tanya Windle won the award going 7-16 with three extra base hits and seven RBI.


BLAZERS RAKE IN POST SEASON AWARDS:
Utah Tech placed three Trailblazers in the WAC post season awards. Hannah Hughbanks and Shea Clements were both named to the First Team while Carly Eldredge was named to the second team.


HUGHBANKS' EARNS WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Not only was Hannah Hughbanks named to the All-WAC first-team but she was also named to the Defensive Team and was named Defensive Player of the Year. She ended the season with a .993 fielding percentage, helped the Trailblazers to a league high of 17 double plays, and was sixth in the conference in putouts (288) as well as total chances (302).


MOVING UP THE RECORDBOARD
There are several Trailblazers working their way through the teams all-time top-10 lists in various categories.


Senior Hannah Hughbanks holds top 10 spots in doubles (46, 4th), slugging percentage (.622, 6th), batting average (.385, 8th), on base percentage (.465, 9th), walks (71 8th), and one triple shy of 10th (4).


Senior Shea Clements is sitting top 10 in stolen bases (37, 8th) and hit by pitches (11, T-9th).


Senior lefty Ashtyn Bauerle is top 10 in fewest walks per seven innings (2.00, 3rd), starts (30, T-10th), and complete games (12, T-10th).


Senior tight handers Kate Dolinski has top 10 position in saves (3, T-3rd) and fewest walks per seven innings (2.33, 7th).


All Time vs CSU Bakersfield: This year's tournament will be the first time the Trailblazers have taken on CSU Bakersfield.
Know Your Foe: CSU Bakersfield comes into the tournament with a 3-16 record including a 3-5 record on a neutral site. On the season they have a team batting average of .175 and are led by Maya Williams who is hitting .286 with 12 hits including two extra base hits. In the circle the Roadrunners have a team ERA of 9.20 led by Brianna Sanchez with a 4.57 ERA across 9 games with eight starts. She is 2-4 with five complete games.


All Time vs Maine: The Trailblazers have faces Maine one other time. Last season they beat the Black Bears 14-6 in six innings in the Utah Tech Tournament at Karl Brooks Field.
Know Your Foe: Maine comes into the tournament with a 4-10 record including going 3-7 on a neutral site. On the season they have a team batting average of .206 and are led by Kelby Drews who is hitting .343 with 12 hits including two extra base hits. In the circle the Black Bears have a team ERA of 6.84 and are led by Caitlyn Fallon with a 5.00 ERA across nine games with seven starts. She is 3-5 with one complete game.


All Time vs Fresno State: This year's tournament will be the first time the Trailblazers have taken on Fresno State.
Know Your Foe: Fresno State comes into the tournament with a 7-10 record including 4-3 at home. On the season they have a team batting average of .260 and are led by Keahilele Mattson who is hitting .383 with 18 hits including seven extra base hits with a triple and four home runs. In the circle the Bulldogs have a team ERA of 4.36 led by Taylor Gilmore with a 2.83 ERA across 15 games with two starts. She is 2-2 with a share of one complete game.


All Time vs UC Santa Barbara: This year's tournament will be the first time the Trailblazers have taken on UC Santa Barbara.
Know Your Foe: UC Santa Barbara comes into the tournament with a 10-7 record including 6-3 on a neutral site. On the season they have a team batting average of .320 and are led by Madelyn McNally who is hitting .421 with 24 hits including seven extra base hits with four triples. In the circle the Gauchos have a team ERA of 3.27 led by Camryn Snyder with a 3.50 ERA across 10 games with seven starts. She is 4-3 with five complete games.