Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 6:05 p.m.
Saturday - 2:05 p.m.
Sunday - 12:05 p.m.
Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | CSUS
Live Streaming: GAME #1 - WACINT | GAME #2 - WACINT | GAME #3 - WACINT
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3
Twitter: @UtahTech_Sports | @UtahTech_BASE | #UtahTechBlazers | #WACbsb

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #40 Dylan Gardner (0-4, 8.68 ERA) vs. RHP #25 Tyler Stewart (1-1, 3.98 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – LHP #6 Carston Herman (0-3, 5.49 ERA) vs. RHP #39 Evan Gibbons (0-2, 5.40 ERA)
Sunday (G3) – RHP #34 Ky Decker (0-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP #31 Andrew Overland (0-1, 2.03 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: After spending nearly two full weeks on the road, Utah Tech (3-14/1-2 WAC) returns home for a four-game homestand, which begins with a three-game weekend WAC series vs. Sacramento State (7-9/2-1 WAC).
            Friday's series opener will start at 6:05 p.m., followed by game two on Saturday at 2:05 p.m.,and Sunday's series finale at 12:05 (CT).
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: Utah Tech is 4-9 all-time vs. Sacramento State, and has lost five of its last six to the Hornets overall, including a three-game sweep in Sacramento last season.
            Three of the Trailblazers' four wins in the series have come on the road, highlighted by a 2-1 series victory two years ago in Sacramento (March 11-13, 2022). 
 
UTAH TECH ON THE 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 12th 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 316-246-1 (.562) overall record at Utah Tech, and a 368-305-1 (.546) career mark. 
            Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is associate head coach Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014), who is in his 10th season on coaching staff overall, along with first-year pitching coach Daniel Stange (UC Riverside, 2015), and former Trailblazer Braxton Ipson (Utah Tech 2020), who moved into an assistant coach role after serving as director of baseball operations last season. 
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech wrapped up its eight-game road swing by taking one of three in a tightly contested WAC season-opening series last weekend at UT Arlington. After dropping the first two games of the series by 4-3 and 5-3 counts, the Trailblazers used a three-run Hunter Katschke home run with one out in the ninth to claim a 6-5 win in Sunday's finale.  
 
TRAILBLAZERS VOTED 11TH IN WAC PRESEASON POLL:Utah Tech was picked to finish 11th in the Western Athletic Conference as the league office announced its 2024 baseball preseason poll on Feb. 6. 
            Grand Canyon received nine first-place votes and 99 voting points to top the 2024 preseason coaches poll. Utah Valley (75 pts) and California Baptist (74 pts) each split the final two first-place votes to finish second and third in the poll, respectively.
            Abilene Christian (70 pts) wound up being selected fourth, followed by UT Arlington (68) in fifth, UTRGV (59 pts) in sixth, Sacramento State (54 pts) in seventh, Seattle U (39 pts) in eighth, Tarleton (34 pts) in ninth, Stephen F. Austin (19 pts) in 10th and Utah Tech (16 pts) in 11th. 
            The top eight teams in the conference standings will advance on to the 2024 WAC Baseball Championship Tournament, which will be held May 22-26 at Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz.
 
PLENTY OF BUZZ: Though no Utah Tech player was voted to the WAC's preseason all-conference team, several Trailblazers are generating plenty of preseason buzz.
            Freshman SS Petey Soto Jr. was named to the Perfect Game all-WAC preseason team and was the publication's pick for Freshman of the Year.
            In addition, Perfect Game has listed three Blazers in its top-10 2024 Major League Baseball Draft prospects list, including junior LHP Justin Woodbury (#4), and a pair of newcomers in junior 1B Aaron Perez (#3) and RHP Dylan Gardner (#5).
            Meanwhile, Perfect Game has sophomore outfielder Karson Irvin listed as the fourth-best prospect on its 2025 Draft list, and Soto Jr. made it on the 2026 Draft list. 
 
HOME SWEET HOME: Utah Tech has played to a 310-146 (.680) overall record in 456 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since the start of its four-year era in the 2007 season.
            The Trailblazers have posted a winning home record in 15 of 17 seasons since transitioning to NCAA status in 2007, which includes an 11-11 at home in 2022. 
            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 2-7 start to the road portion of the 2024 schedule, and a 2-21 road mark last year, Utah Tech has managed to hold its own away from home in its NCAA era as the Trailblazers have played to a 172-205-1 overall road record (.456).
            Utah Tech 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 184-205-1 (.473) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
 
CLOSING IN ON 500: Utah Tech enters the week five wins away from collecting victory No. 500 during its NCAA era.
            The Trailblazers recorded their 400th win in the program's NCAA era in the series opener vs. UCCS (6-1) on March 16, 2019. Utah Tech is currently 495-361-1 (.578) all-time through 17-plus years of NCAA competition (857 games). 
 
FINAL D-I TRANSITION SEASON: Utah Tech is currently in its fourth and final season of its transition to NCAA Division-I status. The Trailblazers have played to a 62-117 (.346) overall record during their transition, which includes a 44-55 (.444) mark in WAC play.  
 
6W vs. P5: Six of Utah Tech's 62 D-I wins have come against Power-5 programs, including last Tuesday's win at Oklahoma State, which was the program's first vs. the Big XII Conference. The Trailblazers have also racked up five wins against the PAC-12 Conference (2 vs. Utah; 1 vs. Arizona/Arizona State/Washington State). 
 
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.  
            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. Utah Tech is 17-13 in 10-inning games, and the program has won nine of its last 20 extra inning games overall.
 
SHOOK OFF THE SHOCK: Utah Tech's offense seems to be getting back on track after the Trailblazers averaged nine hits and 5.5 runs in their two games at Oklahoma State, including 11 hits and nine runs in their game one victory (3/5). 
            In fact, the 11 Utah Tech hits in G1 at OSU matched the total number of safeties the Blazers collected in three games at Wichita State two weeks ago in a series where they hit just .118 (11-for-93) and scored only one run. 
            The Trailblazer pitching staff did manage to hold its own over the weekend, in particular the bullpen, as nine Blazer relievers combined for seven strikeouts and limited WSU to four runs and seven hits over nine total innings of relief.
            Utah Tech's defense also did its job as the unit as a whole committed only one error and turned four double plays in the three-game set.
            Prior to the Wichita State series, the Trailblazers had committed a combined 15 errors over their previous five games, this after Utah Tech was charged with only one error in the four games vs. Washington State to open the year. 
             
TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS 
* - Junior OF Ethan Royal (.310/.414/.412) had himself quite the final two games of the UTA series, during which he batted a combined .556 (5-for-9) out of the lead-off spot with a double and two runs scored ... Royal collected two hits in G2 before going 3-for-5 with a run in Sunday's finale.
* - Senior OF Chase Rodriguez (.255/.489/.327) has hit safely in four of his last five games and has hit all three of his homers this season during this current stretch, including back-to-back games in the finale at Oklahoma State (3/6) and G1 at UTA last Friday.
* - Rodriguez, who also homered in Sunday's win, hit .273 (3-for-11) in the UTA series with a pair of solo HRs and three runs scored. 
* - Junior 1B Aaron Perez (.286/.393/.344) has hit safely in five-straight, and in six of his seven starts overall on Utah Tech's road trip ... Perez batted an even .300 (3-for-10) at UTA with a double and an RBI, and drew a team-high three walks for good measure.
* - Freshman SS Petey Soto Jr. (.241/.333/.344) has also hit safely in four of his last five starts, and in 11 of his first 17 collegiate games overall ... Soto Jr. went 3-for-10 in the UTA series with a pair of walks, an RBI and a run scored.
* - Soto Jr. enjoyed a breakout series vs. CSUN, against which he batted .444 with a pair of walks and three runs scored ... Soto Jr. also belted his first collegiate homer in G2, which caromed high off the Bruce Hurst Field scoreboard in the fifth inning. 
* - Junior RF/DH Hunter Katschke (.250/.481/.281) has hit safely in nine of his first 16 games as a Trailblazer and co-leads the team (with Rodriguez) with three HRs, including his three-run, opposite field blast in Sunday's UTA finale which proved to be the game-winner.
* - Katschke had quite the Blazer debut in the Washington State series, during which he batted .438 (7-for-16) with team-highs of five XBHs, four RBI and four runs scored in four starts. 
* - Katschke also collected two hits and drove in two runs in the win at Oklahoma State (3/5). 
* - Sophomore INF Garrett Cutting (.120/.400/.154) went 2-for-7 in two starts at UTA, with both hits going for extra bases, including his second HR of the season in G2 last Saturday ... Cutting also had a pinch-hit HR in the series opener vs. CSUN (2/23). 
* - Senior catcher Hank Dodson (.283/.377/.371) batted .429 (3-for-7) in two starts at Oklahoma State with a double and a run scored ... Dodson, who has hit safely in four of his last six games, hit .308 in four starts vs. Washington State with four runs scored, and hit the second of three homers the Blazers recorded in their game three win ... he followed that up by batting an even .500 in the CSUN series with one double and a team-best three RBI. 
* - Freshman 3B Kyle McDaniel (.167/.262/.314) hit an even .500 (3-for-6) in the OSU series with three walks, highlighted by his first collegiate home run on the fourth pitch of the G1 win (3/5).
* - McDaniel's lead-off homer was Utah Tech's first of the season, and the last one since former Blazer OF Parker Schmidt did it last season vs. Utah Valley (W, 13-8; 4/28/23). 
* - Senior INF Blake Borgogno (.348/.348/.464) accounted for two of Utah Tech's 11 total hits at Wichita State, both of which came in Sunday's finale.
* - In fact, Borgogno was all over the base paths during that series as he reached safely in all six of his plate appearances thanks to a pair of walks and two HBPs.
* - Borgogno tallied only one hit in the OSU series, though it was a big one - a two-out, eighth inning single that chased home Rodriguez carrying what proved to be the eventual game-winning run. 
* - Senior OF Jack Walker (.238/.429/.273), who missed the first six games of the year due to injury, announced his presence with authority with a double off the wall on the first pitch he saw as a pinch hitter in G2 vs. CSUN (2/24) ... Walker started the CSUN series finale (2/25) and homered as part of a 2-of-4 day. 
* - Senior RHP Ryan Hardman earned his sixth career save (T-#9 all-time at Utah Tech) in the Oklahoma State victory (3/5) ... Hardman pitched the final 2.1 innings in the win, during which he surrendered three runs and two hits, though he did strike out three, including two in a spotless ninth inning to close out the win. 
* - Hardman fired four innings of two-hit, one-run relief with five strikeouts in his first outing of the year to earn the decision in game three of the Washington State series (2/17).
* - Hardman's five Ks tied his career high which he set last season at Oklahoma State (3/11/23).
* - Hardman picked up his second win out of the Blazers' bullpen in Sunday's finale at UTA after he struck out two and limited UTA  to one run and five hits over the final two innings. 
*- Sophomore southpaw Evan Vasiliou earned his second collegiate victory in the win at Oklahoma State (3/5), against which he struck out a career-high six and limited the Cowboys to two runs and eight hits over 5.2 IP. 
* - In all, Trailblazer pitchers recorded 19 punch outs vs. Oklahoma State, which included a season-high 12 in the series opening win (3/5). 
* - Junior RHP Ky Decker struck out a season-high five in last Sunday's start at UTA ... Decker scattered five hits and one earned run (four total) over 5.0 IP, but did not figure in the decision.
* - Junior RHP Dylan Gardner also fanned five a season-high five in the series opener at UTA last Friday, though he was touched up for five hits and four runs over five innings.  
 
ABOUT THE SACRAMENTO STATE "HORNETS": Sacramento State has split its last six games, though the Hornets did take two of three from Utah Valley at home last weekend to open WAC play. 
            Sophomore INF JP Smith is slashing at an impressive .311/.770/.394, and leads the Hornets with nine home runs and 17 RBI through 16 games this season.
            Meanwhile junior RHP Tyler Stewart, who will start Friday's series opener, owns a 1-1 record and a 3.98 ERA, and co-leads the team with G2 starter, senior RHP Evan Gibbons (0-2, 5.40 ERA), with 20 strikeouts. 
            As a team, Sacramento State is hitting at a .222 clip and averages 5.1 runs a game, while the Hornet pitching staff owns a 5.71 ERA and has struck out 146 in 145.0 IP. 
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech will close out its brief homestand with a midweek date vs. in-state rival BYU on Tuesday night, March 19. First pitch is slated for 6:05 p.m.