(Santa Barbara, Calif. - March 8, 2024) - The Trailblazers opened the UCSB Tournament II on Friday afternoon falling to Lehigh, 7-3 and UC Santa Barbara, 6-5 at Campus Diamond.
Utah Tech (6-13) totaled seven hits in each contest getting a big day from senior catcher
Rachel Campbell.
The Castle Rock, Colo., native notched a pair of hits in game one and followed that up in game two with a three-run home run for her third long ball of the season.
Laura Lockard added a pair of RBI in game one while adding a single, double and an RBI in game two.
On the pitching side,
Attlyn Johnston started game one throwing 5.2 innings before
Tyler Denhart got the start in game two. After tossing four innings,
Sauren Garton came on for the final two innings where she took the loss, her third of the season.
Game One Recap vs. Lehigh
The Trailblazers got the scoring started in the first inning with an RBI single back up the middle by Lockard driving home
Gabi Giroux, who reached secon after drawing a two-out walk and stealing second, her first stolen base of the season.
The Mountain Hawks answered with a five-run bottom of the first belting a two-run home run, and tacked on a two-run RBI triple and an RBI single for a 5-1 lead.
An RBI ground out by
Baylee Howley drove home
Marisa Rubio in the second and an RBI ground out by Lockard in the third scored
LB Kahahawai-Kekona to cut Lehigh's down to 5-3.
After scoreless fourth and fifth innings, the Mountain Hawks added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth to push their lead back to four.
A leadoff single to right by Howley got the seventh started and after moving to third on a ground out followed by a Lehigh fielding error,
Carly Eldredge went down on strikes to end the contest.
Game Two Recap vs. UC Santa Barbara
Turning right around for the second game of the day, the Gauchos got the scoring started in the first with a pair of runs.
The Blazers answered right back in the second inning with a run on an RBI double to left center by
Madisen Duryea before Campbell sent a two-out three-run home run over the center field wall in the third for a 4-2 lead.
UCSB locked up the game at four apiece in the fifth with a pair of RBI base knocks and went ahead 6-4 in the sixth with a two-run home run by Ainsley Waddell.
Down to their last three outs in the seventh, the Trailblazers got a run back on a two-out RBI double by Lockard that drove home Kahahawai-Kekona.
With Rubio pinch-running for Lockard at second, Wadell sent Campbell down on strikes to hand the Trailblazers their second defeat of the day.
Up next
The Trailblazers get two of the UC Santa Barbara Tournament underway on Saturday against Lehigh at 10 a.m.
