FIRST PITCH: Utah Tech (11-32/6-15 WAC) heads out on its penultimate road trip of the 2023 season this weekend as the Trailblazers return to the Lone Star State for a three-game series at Abilene Christian (26-16/11-10 WAC). 
    The series opener will take place on Friday night at 6:05 p.m. (CT), followed by game two on Saturday afternoon at 3:05 p.m. (CT), and the series finale on Sunday at 11:05 a.m. (CT), at Crutcher Scott Field (4,000) on the ACU campus. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's series will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Wildcats on the diamond.

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 311-225-1 (.580) overall record at Utah Tech, and a 363-284-1 (.561) 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 wrapped up last week's homestand by taking two of three from in-state rival Utah Valley in the renewal of the "Old Hammer Rivalry" at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers hit an NCAA Division-I era program high six home runs on their way to a 13-8 series opening win on Friday night. Then after UVU evened the series with a lopsided win in game two on Saturday, Utah Tech closed the weekend with an 8-2 victory in Sunday's finale. 

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 307-137 (.691) overall record in 444 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since the start of its four-year era in the 2007 season.
    The Trailblazers improved to 10-16 start at home this season, which includes a 5-7 mark in WAC play, after their series win over UVU last weekend, and did collect its 300th NCAA-era home victory in their 12-4 series-opening win over Wichita State back on Feb. 22. 
    UT has posted a winning home record in 15 of 17 seasons since transitioning to NCAA status in 2007, though the home loss to Utah (4/25) to open last week's homestand clinched the Blazers' first home losing record in the program's NCAA era. Utah Tech also went 11-11 at home last season. 
    Utah Tech had 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 1-16 mark on the road this, Utah Tech has managed to hold its own away from home as the Trailblazers have played to a 169-192-1 overall road record (.468) 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 14 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 11 seasons overall. When you also figure in neutral-site games (14-11 in 25 games), Utah Tech is 183-203-1 (.474) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field 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 490-340-1 (.590) all-time through 16-plus years of NCAA competition (831 games). 

FREE BASEBALL: After not playing an extra inning game in two full seasons in 2019 and 2020, Utah Tech has played in 13 extra inning affairs since its move to Division I, all of which have come over the Blazers' 117 games, including four this season. 
    Unfortunately for the Trailblazers, they came out on the short end of all four of those games, including the series opener at GCU (2-4; 4/21) in 12 innings. That result was the second 12-inning game in the program's current NCAA Division I transition (4-3 all-time in 12 inning games).
    The other three extra inning losses have all come at home, two of which came last month in the SFA series in 10-inning losses in games one (10-13; 3/24) and three (5-6; 3/26). UT also fell in 10 innings in game two vs. Wichita State (L, 3-5; 2/24).  
    The Trailblazers are currently 4-9 in extra inning games during their D-I transition, and 35-24 (.593) overall in 59 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 20 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'S POWER SURGE: Dating back to last year, Fisher has gone big fly in 11 of his last 45 games, including seven games this season. The senior rapped out three XBHs vs. Utah Valley last weekend, including career homer No. 39 in Friday's series opening win. 
    Fisher then connected for his team-leading eighth homer of the season, and the 40th of his career, in Sunday's series finale. 
    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, highlighted by homers in all three games in that season-finale series at CBU. 
    Fisher batted .357 (5-for-14) over those final four starts 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 40 and counting, Fisher has several more career records in sight as he continues through his final season. 
    Along with reaching the 40-homer plateau, the senior became just the third player in program history to play in 200 career games, and in the process, moved into second place in career games at 202. Fisher is sure to pass former Blazer infielder Drew McLaughlin (2014-17), who played in 204 career games in his storied four-year career.
    Fisher (370) is also one XBH (or two singles away) from passing McLaughlin (371) for first place in career total bases, and he is now stands three total hits away from becoming the fourth Trailblazer to record 200 career hits (197). 
    Meanwhile, Fisher's team-leading 27 RBI this season leaves him needing only seven more to pass both Engel (147) and Adams (147) become UT's career RBI leader (third with 141). 
    In addition, he currently stands third in at bats (660), fourth in doubles (39), triples (7), stolen bases (25), and games started (183), fifth in runs (141), and sixth in SLG% (.561).
    Fisher padded his top-six career slugging percentage last weekend vs. UVU, against which he batted .333 (3-for-9) with his 38th-career double to go with his two HRs (1.111 SLG%).

STARTING AT THE TOP: Junior 3B Shane Taylor enters this weekend's series red hot at the plate, having hit safely in 19 of his last 23 games.
    Two weekends ago at GCU, Taylor managed to extend his career-best hit streak to 18-straight games in the series opener, but saw that streak come to an end with an 0-for-5 day at the plate in game two. 
    However Taylor came right back in the Sunday finale to hit two solo home runs as part of a 2-for-4 effort with a walk. The junior's two-homer game came just over two years to the day after his first collegiate two-homer day, which also happened on the road at Tarleton State (4/3/21) during the 2021 season. 
    Taylor kept it going in last Friday's opener vs. UVU as he went 3-for-5 in the two-hole in the order. The junior finished the night a double shy of hitting for the cycle as he legged out his fourth-career triple and hit his seventh homer of the season. 
    Taylor's HR on Friday also moved him into t-eighth place on UT's career HR list (18). 
    Taylor had quite the home series vs. Sam Houston three weeks ago, batting .417 (5-for-12) with a double, HR, two RBI and three runs in three starts. In fact, that homer led off the home first in the series opening win, and was Utah Tech's first lead-off home run in nearly 23 full months.
    UT's last lead off homer, coincidentally, also came off of Taylor's bat in a 14-4 home win over Seattle U (5/16/21) during the 2021 season.
    The junior also had a great series at UT Arlington (4/6-8), against which he hit .384 (5-for-13) with three XBHs, highlighted by UT's first inside-the-park home run in the program's new Division-I era, which came in the series opener (4/6) as part of a three-RBI night. The junior also doubled and tripled in game two, and finished the series with four RBI, three walks and three runs scored. 
    Taylor is batting .356 (31-for-87) over this current stretch with 15 XBH, 16 RBI, 23 runs, and 22 walks primarily out of the lead-off spot. He currently stands in second in the WAC in walks with 38, including 20 free passes over his last 20 games. 
    In addition, Taylor is currently second in program history with 111 career walks (126, Yuto Kata; 2012-16), and needs six more this season to break the UT single season record (43, Kata; 2012). 

RACING AROUND THE BASES: Taylor's inside-the-park homer at UTA on April 6 was the second in Coach Pfatenhauer's tenure as Utah Tech skipper. Coincidentally, the first inside-the-park HR was also legged out by a Trailblazer 3B - Yuto Kata - who did at Bruce Hurst Field nearly nine years ago to the day (4/19/14) in UT's 11-0 home win over Cal State LA.

SPEAKING OF STREAKS: Taylor's 18-game hit streak tied for the third-longest in the program's NCAA era, and was the longest in Utah Tech's current D-I transition.
    Former shortstop Tanner Morache hit in 18-straight games in 2016 (2/27-3/29/16), while former Blazer slugger Kevin Kline strung together a 19-game hit streak during the 2014 season. 
    Taylor's former teammate and Trailblazer All-American Jake Engel currently owns the school record with a 21-game hit streak, which he started in his final five starts of the 2019 season and all 16 starts during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. 

HOLY SCHMIDT: Junior OF/C Parker Schmidt had himself quite the series last weekend vs. UVU as he responded to moving to the lead-off spot in the batting order by hitting .625 (5-for-8) with three XBHs (1.625 SLG%), three RBI, four walks (.750 OB%) and a team-high six runs scored.
    Schmidt has now hit safely in 12 of his last 16 games (21-for-55; .382) with eight XBHs, and has collected at least two hits in six of his last 11 starts overall.
    Like Taylor, Schmidt himself went 3-for-4 in Friday's opener, which included a lead-off homer in the bottom of the first inning. The junior also tripled and homered in consecutive at-bats in the first two innings of Sunday's series finale. 

EXTRA EXTRA: In all, Utah Tech rapped out 21 XBHs in the UVU series (.804 SLG%), with 10 total home runs.
    Six of the Blazers 10 homers came in Friday's series opening-win, which were not only a season-high, but were the most hit in the program's current NCAA D-I transition.
    In addition, all six homers were hit by six different Trailblazers, which is a new school record. Meanwhile, the six homers vs. UVU eclipsed the previous season high of five set in the series opener vs. Wichita State (2/22), and were one shy of the program's NCAA-era single game record of seven hit in a road win at Adams State (W, 28-9; 3/10/19) during the 2019 season. 

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS
* - Junior CF Chase Rodriguez enjoyed his best overall series of the season last weekend vs. UVU, against which he batted .400 (4-for-10) with two HRs, his fourth career triple, four RBI and four runs scored ... Rodriguez has hit safely in nine of his last 13 games and has driven in at least one run in four-straight starts. 
* - RS-Freshman infielder Garrett Cutting saw his streak of six-straight extra base hits come to an end after he collected a pair of "pedestrian" singles in Sunday's finale at GCU ... Cutting went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs scored in that game.
* - Cutting got back on the extra-base train last week, going 1-for-2 with a double vs. Utah (4/25), and followed that up with his third HR of the year in G2 vs. UVU last Saturday, and his eighth double of the year in Sunday's finale vs. the Wolverines ... Cutting wound up batting an even .400 (2-for-5) against UVU pitching with those two XBHs and two runs scored.
* - In all, nine of Cutting's last 11 total hits overall (11-for-33; .333) have gone for extra bases, all of which had come over his last 13 games dating back to the midweek game at Arizona (3/21).
* - Senior 1B/RHP Zach Thomas enters this weekend's series sizzling at the plate, having hit safely in nine of his last 10 games overall ... Thomas pushed his career-long hit streak to nine-straight with his second double of the year in game two last Saturday vs. UVU, however his streak was halted by an 0-for-4 day in Sunday's finale. 
* - Thomas is batting .410 (16-for-39) over his last 10 games with four HRs and seven total XBHs, eight RBI and eight runs scored. 
* - Junior INF Blake Borgogno was the third Blazer batter to hit .400 (4-for-10) in the UVU series and was one of five Blazers to collect three XBHs (2 2B/1 3B) in the series overall ... Borgogno, who has hit safely in a season-high five-straight games (6-for-13; .461), also swiped his team-leading ninth stolen base in Friday's opener vs. the Wolverines. 
* - Senior infielder Mathew Ivancich is also feeling it at the dish as he has hit safely in five of his last six games, including a 3-for-5 day with his first HR of the season in the GCU series finale (4/23) ... Ivancich, who is batting .368 (7-for-19) over his last six games, also drove in two runs and scored two runs in that final game.
* - Sophomore SS Ethan He, who looks to return to the lineup this weekend after missing five-straight games, had hit safely in nine of his last 12 games (13-for-41; .317) prior to his absence ... the sophomore posted four multi-hit games with eight total RBI, highlighted by a 2-for-4 day with a homer and three RBI at BYU (4/11).
* - He has reached base safely in 14 of his last 16 games played, and has collected base hits in 10 of those games.
* - After only hitting one road HR through its first five road games, Utah Tech has gone yard 14 times over its last 11 road games, including the four solo HRs in the GCU finale (4/23) ... before Taylor's first HR in the third inning of that game, the Trailblazers had 19 hits over the first two-plus games in the series - all singles. 
* - Prior to the CBU road series (3/31-4/2), senior 1B Sean Keating had 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, who has homered in two of his last four games, 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.
* - In fact, Utah Tech went back-to-back-to-back with the long ball in the third inning of G1 vs. Wichita as Bryker 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 also put together a dominant performance in his last home start vs. Sam Houston (4/14) ... the junior came within one out of recording Utah Tech's first complete-game victory in the program's new NCAA Division-I era when he went 8.2 innings, but two Blazer errors in the ninth prevented him from notching his first nine-inning CG.
* - Porthan collected his staff-leading fifth win of the season in Friday's opener vs. UVU ... the junior struck out seven and scattered six runs and nine hits over six innings complete.
* - Porthan, who leads the WAC in innings pitched (67.1 IP) is currently fourth on UT's career starts, with No. 34 coming on Friday night vs. ACU ... the junior also stands in third all-time in IP (186.0) and is seventh on UT's career strikeout (131) list. 
* - Senior LHP Ben Hart has made a staff-high 18 relief appearances through 43 games this season to rise to second all-time in program history in games pitched at 69 ... Hart is now three appearances away from passing former teammate Brayden Bonner (71; 2017-21) for first place on UT's career games pitched list.
* - Hart (102 K) also became the 13th pitcher (and third this season) to record at least 100 career strikeouts in UT's NCAA era with his 15th punch-out of the season in his one inning of work at BYU (4/11).
* - Speaking of relief, junior RHP Ryan Hardman  enjoyed his finest outing of the year as he fired 4.1 inning of two-hit relief in the series finale at GCU (4/23) ... Hardman held the Lopes to one run and struck out two.
* - Hardman earned his first win of the season in Sunday's finale vs. UVU after he struck out four and limited the Wolverines to one run and three hits in 3.0 IP ... senior RHP Jake Dahle then came on and hurled three scoreless innings with four punch outs to collect the three-inning save.
* - Freshman RHP Dakoda West got the start in the UVU finale, and after he gave up a lead-off homer and a first inning, two-out double, he retired the final seven Wolverines he faced and finished with three strikeouts. 

ABOUT THE ACU "WILDCATS": Abilene Christian enters this weekend's series looking to get back on track after having lost seven of its last 10 after starting the season 23-9. That all said, the Wildcats are 20-7 at home this season, which includes a 9-8 victory over Baylor this past Tuesday night. 
    ACU boasts four regular starters batting over .300, led by senior OF Grayson Tatrow, who co-leads the WAC in homers (15) and is ranked t-third in the conference in RBI (49) and 15th in batting (.353). 
    Friday's series opening starter, senior RHP Tyler Morgan, is third in the WAC in strikeouts (74/59.1 IP) and is 2-3 with a 5.76 ERA. 
    Meanwhile, Saturday's game two starter, senior RHP Breck Eichelberger, is 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 47.1 IP. 
    Eichelberger, who hails from nearby Ivins, Utah, will see some familiar faces on the UT side when he takes the bump on Saturday, including a fellow Snow Canyon HS alum in Blazer game two starter - sophomore LHP Carston Herman. 
    As a team, ACU hits at a .286 clip and averages 6.4 runs a game, while the Wildcat pitching staff owns a 6.23 ERA and has struck out 379 in 371.0 IP. 
    In addition, ACU is currently ranked fifth-nationally in fielding percentage at .982, having committed only 27 errors in 1,510 total chances.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech closes its 2023 home slate next weekend with a three-game WAC series vs. Seattle U.