Utah Tech opened the 2024 season on a sour note as the Trailblazers came out on the short end of a 12-6 decision to Washington State on Friday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. 
 
The two sides were locked in a back-and-forth battle in the early going, with the Trailblazers (0-1) drawing first blood with two first-inning runs. Aaron Perez got Utah Tech on the board with a double to the gap in left center, which chased home Kyle McDaniel carrying the game's first run.
 
Hunter Katschke then flew out to center field two pitches later to plate Hank Dodson, who singled and took third on the Perez double.
 
Washington State (1-0) quickly countered with four runs in the second, only to see Utah Tech answer with two more runs on a pair of RBI-singles from Ethan He and McDaniel in the home half of the frame to knot the score at 4-4.
 
WSU catcher Josh Murrow untied the game with a home run to right center to lead off the third, but again the Blazers would again pull even with two-out Katschke solo blast in the home third.
 
From there it was all Cougars as they struck for three runs in the fourth, and four more in the sixth to bolt to a 12-5 lead.
 
Utah Tech had a chance in the seventh, loading the bases with one out on walks to Dodson and Petey Soto Jr., which bookended a Katschke double.
 
However the Blazers could only scratch out one run in the rally, and the Cougar bullpen limited Utah Tech to just two hits the rest of the to close out the win. 
 
Chase Rodriguez doubled twice and drove in one run as part of a career-high tying four-hit day to lead the Trailblazer offense. Dodson, Perez and Katschke also collected two hits apiece as Utah Tech finished with 14 safeties in the game.  
 
Washington State's Cole Cramer came within a single of hitting for the cycle as he went 3-for-5 with five RBI to pace the Cougar offense, which tallied 18 hits on the day. 
 
The two teams will play the middle two games of their four-game weekend series in a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 12:05 p.m.