Hunter Katschke delivered a three-run home run with one out in the top of the ninth inning to help Utah Tech salvage the final game of its WAC season-opening series at UT Arlington with a dramatic 6-5 road victory on Sunday afternoon at Clay Gould Ballpark.
 
The Trailblazers (3-14/1-2 WAC) plated single runs in their first, second and fourth offensive frames on their way to a 3-0 cushion after four innings complete. 
 
Hank Dodson gave Utah Tech its first lead of the series with a two-out bloop single in the opening stanza that chased home Aaron Perez, who reached on a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch.
 
Utah Tech took advantage of a UTA (6-10/2-1 WAC) error to tally another run the second, while Chase Rodriguez drilled his second homer of the series, and third of the season, to lead off the Trailblazer fourth.
 
The early run support bolstered a strong start from junior righthander Ky Decker (ND), who struck out four and retired 12 of the first 13 Maverick hitters he faced over his first four innings of work.
 
However UT Arlington would erase the deficit and solve Decker in the home fifth, touching him up for three hits and four runs, though only one of those runs were earned after a Trailblazer error extended the inning.
 
Trailing 5-3 with one out in the ninth, Garrett Cutting doubled and Ethan Royal singled ahead of Katschke, who won a nine-pitch battle with Maverick closer Caden Noah (L, 0-1) with his third homer of the season, an opposite field shot over the right field wall that staked Utah Tech to a one-run lead.
 
Senior reliever Ryan Hardman (W, 2-0), who came on in the eighth inning, worked out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the UTA ninth to close out the win.
 
Royal finished the day with three hits and a run scored out of the lead-off spot, while Petey Soto Jr. collected a pair of safeties, as Utah Tech pounded out 10 hits on the afternoon.
 
After spending the last 11 days on the road, Utah Tech returns home for a four-game homestand, which begins with a three-game WAC series vs. Sacramento State this upcoming Friday-through-Sunday at Bruce Hurst Field.