Utah Tech was done in by a big UTRGV third inning as the Trailblazers came out on the short end of a 14-5 decision on Friday night at Bruce Hurst Field.  
 
The Trailblazers (7-19/5-6 WAC) jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead, which got off to a bang thanks to Hunter Katschke's second home run of the series, and team-leading seventh of the season overall, a solo shot over the wall in left center with one out in the frame. 
 
Chase Rodriguez got plunked three pitches later, which was followed by a two-out Hank Dodson walk, a double steal and a Petey Soto Jr. infield single that made it a 2-0 game. Dodson then scampered home carrying the third run of the rally on the back end of a failed double-steal attempt.
 
The early run support bolstered a solid start from junior righthander Ky Decker, who retired six of the first seven Vaquero batters he faced over his first two innings.
 
However that all changed an inning later when UTRGV (14-11/4-4 WAC) struck for 10 third-inning runs. The Vaqueros sent 16 batters to the plate in their decisive stanza, nine of whom reach on base hits.
 
Utah Tech managed to score single runs in both the third and fourth innings, but the deficit proved to be too much as the Vaqueros cruised to the series clinching win. 
 
Katschke and Brennen Study each collected two hits to lead the Trailblazer offense, which tallied eight hits on the night.
 
Utah Tech will look to salvage the final game of the three-game set on Saturday beginning 12:05 p.m. (MT).