Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - PPD - WEATHER
Saturday (DH) - 11 a.m./2 p.m. (approx)
Sunday - 11 a.m.
Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | SFA
Live Streaming: GAME #1 - ESPN+ | GAME #2 - ESPN+ | GAME #3 - ESPN+
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3
Twitter: @UtahTech_Sports | @UtahTech_BASE | #UtahTechBlazers | #WACbsb

PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – LHP #24 Evan Vasiliou (3-5, 7.17 ERA) vs. LHP #40 Will Larson (0-2, 8.38 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – RHP #15 Cade Montgomery (0-2, 7.28 ERA) vs. RHP #39 Kade Parker (1-2, 6.97 ERA)
Sunday (G3) – LHP #6 Carston Herman (2-4, 5.44 ERA) vs. LHP #25 Elian Balmaceda (1-6, 9.21 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: Utah Tech (10-34/8-16 WAC) wraps up the road portion of its 2024 WAC road schedule with a three-game weekend series at Stephen F. Austin (7-38/3-21 WAC). 
            DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER AND FIELD CONDITIONS, Friday's series opener has been postponed and rescheduled into a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 12 noon (CT), while Sunday's finale scheduled to begin at 12 noon (CT), at Pilgrim's Park (1,000) in Nacogdoches, Texas.
 
UTAH TECH VS. SFA: This weekend's series will be the second between the Trailblazers and Lumberjacks on the diamond, and will mark the first time the two sides will meet in Nacogdoches. 
            Last season, Utah Tech suffered a three-game home sweep at the hands of the 'Jacks at Bruce Hurst Field (3/24-26/23), with two of those losses coming in extra innings. 
 
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 323-266-1 (.548) overall record at Utah Tech, and a 375-325-1 (.535) 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. 
 
ON HIS WAY TO 800: Coach Pfatenhauer passed another career milestone in last Sunday's series finale vs. Abilene Christian as he managed in his 700th-career game. 
 
LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech closed its five-game homestand on the wrong end of a wild 17-12 slugfest with in-state rival Utah Valley in a non-conference game this past Monday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. 
 
PLENTY OF BUZZ: Though no Utah Tech player was voted to the WAC's preseason all-conference team, several Trailblazers generated 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 311-157 (.664) overall record in 468 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-plus seasons since transitioning to NCAA status in 2007, which included 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 5-16 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 176-213-1 overall road record (.452).
            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 (15-11 in 26 games), Utah Tech is 191-224-1 (.459) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
 
ON TO THE NEXT 500: Utah Tech collected its 500th NCAA-era victory in its 12-5 series finale triumph vs. UTRGV on March 30. 
            Utah Tech is currently 502-381-1 (.568) all-time through 17-plus years of NCAA competition (884 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 69-136 (.336) overall record during their transition, which includes a 51-69 (.425) mark in WAC play.  
 
6W vs. P5: Six of Utah Tech's 69 D-I wins have come against Power-5 programs, including its win at Oklahoma State (3/5), 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). 
            Of note, all three victories over BYU, which is in its first season of Big XII play, came when the Cougars were members of the West Coast Conference.
 
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.
 
DUH-DUH-DUH...DUH-DUH-DUH: Utah Tech got itself some national attention as the Trailblazer defense made ESPN's SportsCenter Top-10 Plays not once, but twice last month.
            The Trailblazers had the fifth-ranked play at BYU on April 16, when SS Petey Soto Jr. made a diving stop on a ground ball up the middle, flipped the ball with his glove to Blake Borgogno at second base, who then turned and fired a strike to Brennen Study at first base to complete the twin killing.
            Utah Tech then made it to No. 3 following the series finale at Grand Canyon (4/21) when OF Chase Rodriguez made an incredible leaping grab just shy of the warning track in right center to steal extra bases and keep GCU off the scoreboard in the fifth inning of the Blazers' 2-1 victory.   
 
GOING, GOING, GONE!: Utah Tech enjoyed a major power surge during its just completed five-game homestand. After hitting only 28 total home runs over their first 38 games, the Trailblazers blasted 14 homers during the homestand, including seven by seven different Blazers in the ACU series.
            Utah Tech then hit four more dingers in last Monday's loss to UVU, highlighted senior reserve catcher Morgan Albrecht's (.300/.800/.417) first two-homer game as a Trailblazer. In fact Albrecht, who also doubled vs. UVU, accounted for three of the team's 14 homers as he connected on his first of the season in G2 vs. ACU. 
            In addition, senior outfielders Chase Rodriguez (.211/.421/.338) and Jack Walker (.243/.500/.312) and junior INF Garrett Cutting(.227/.432/.271) each homered twice during the homestand. 
 
LEAD OFF JACKS: Freshman Kyle McDaniel recorded his second lead-off homer of the season in G2 vs. ACU last Saturday. McDaniel, who has three long balls overall in 37 games, also led off Utah Tech's win at Oklahoma State (3/5) with his first collegiate HR. 
            In fact, nine of the Trailblazers' 42 homers to this point of the season have come leading off an inning. 
            
TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS 
* - Soto Jr. (.262/.344/.366) had himself quite the homestand as he hit safely in all four of his starts with three-multi hit outings, highlighted by his first collegiate three-hit game in the series opener vs. ACU last Friday.
* - Soto Jr. has hit safely in five-straight games overall with four multi-hit games over this current stretch, during which he is batting .555 (10-for-18) with one double and five runs scored.
* - Walker posted his third career three-hit game in the finale vs. ACU, against which he finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and tallied two RBI and two runs scored.
* - Walker batted .375 (6-for-16) in the homestand with a triple, two homers, four RBI and three runs scored. 
* - Senior catcher Hank Dodson (.291/.456/.376) has hit safely in 15 of his last 23 starts, which included his first career two-double (2-for-4) game at BYU (4/16), and a 2-for-4 day in the win at GCU (4/21).  
* - Dodson also collected two hits in the series finale vs. Tarleton (4/14), highlighted by his fourth homer of the season, a two-run shot in the third inning.
* - Dodson has legged out six of his team-high 12 doubles over his last 16 starts ... Dodson co-leads the Trailblazers with 17 XBHs, to go with 19 RBI and 19 run scored in 43 games. 
* - Dodson, who is hitting .305 clip WAC play, batted .333 (5-for-15) in the Seattle series, and hit .462 (6-for-13) in three starts vs. Sacramento State, with two hits in each start, all while collecting two RBI and two stolen bases over the three games.
* - Dodson also posted his first collegiate two-homer game as part of a 4-for-5 day in the finale vs. UTRGV (3/30). 
* - Junior RF/DH Hunter Katschke (.293/.531/.352) has hit safely in 17 of his last 24 games and is batting .313 (26-for-83) over this current stretch with 10 XBHs, including a two-hit day with his team-leading ninth homer of the year in the finale vs. ACU last Sunday.
* - Katschke saw his, and Utah Tech's season team-high, 13-game hit streak stopped in the series finale at UVU (4/7), but he came back with base hits in both games at UNLV (4/9-10), including an RBI-double in game one.
* - Katschke, who is batting .297 against WAC pitching, feasted on UTRGV pitching (3/28-30) to the tune of a .538 average (7-for-13) with five RBI and five runs scored ... he went 4-for-5 with a homer and four RBI in the series opener, then homered as part of a two-hit day in game two ... his four hits and four RBI in G1 were both season highs.
* - Katschke hit .385 in three starts at Seattle U (5-for-13) with four RBI and three runs scored ... he drove in at least one run in all three games, including a pair runs in the game two win. 
* - Katschke got his hit streak rolling in the Sac State series, during which he batted an even .500 (5-for-10) with a double, two HRs, three RBI and four runs scored ... the junior homered in both Blazer wins, including a two-run shot in G1 ... he also drew a career-best three walks in G2 and finished with a .615 OB% in the series.
* - Katschke has hit safely in 27 of his 42 games as a Trailblazer and he is the team leader in both HRs (9) and RBI (27).
* - Junior 1B Aaron Perez (.240/.349/.317) has hit safely in four of his last nine starts, and in 23 of his first 37 games in a Trailblazer uniform overall. 
* - Perez smacked his second HR of the season, a two-run shot in the first inning of last Friday's opener vs. ACU. 
* - Study (.286/.481/.381) batted an even .300 (6-for-20) during the just completed homestand, with three of his six hits going for extra bases, including his first triple of the year vs. Nevada (4/22), along with a double his second homer of the season in the series finale vs. ACU last Sunday.
* - Study, who has hit safely in 11 of his last 14 outings, also had two hits and a run scored last Monday vs. UVU. 
* - McDaniel (.262/.402/.368) has been on a tear of late, having hit safely in 17 of his last 23 starts, including eight of his last 10 with four multi-hit outings ... the freshman batted .385 at GCU (5-for-13), with three of his five total hits going for doubles, including a pair of two-baggers as part of a 3-for-5 night in game two (4/20).
* - McDaniel hit a combined .333 (4-for-12) in the ACU series with two XBHs, two RBI and three runs scored. 
* - Freshman LF Ethan Royal (.258/.315/.347) has his safely in 11 of his last 16 starts, including all three games at GCU, against which he batted .308 (4-for-13) with a double and two RBI.
* - Royal posted his fourth multi-hit game of the year with a 2-for-4 night in the series opener (4/19), then tied a career high with his two RBI in game two (4/20). 
* - Rodriguez, who collected his 100th-career hit in the series opener vs. Tarleton (4/12), drove in five runs, including a two-run first inning HR, vs. Nevada (4/15) ... the senior's five RBI were one off of his career high of six he set two years ago at home vs. Utah Valley (3/4/22).
* - Junior catcher Connor Tallakson (.147/.235/.293) belted his first homer as a Trailblazer in the fourth inning vs. Nevada (4/15), against which he tied a career-high with two runs scored.  
* - Sophomore OF Levi Randall (.333/.407/.438) picked up his first collegiate XBH with a lead-off triple and tallied a career-best three runs scored in the Nevada loss (4/15) ... Randall also recorded his first collegiate two-hit game and drove in his first career run in road finale at UNLV (4/10) ... Randall has collected at least one hit in eight of the 14 games he has recorded a plate appearance this season. 
* - Junior LHP Carston Herman turned in five solid innings last Sunday vs. ACU, against which he struck out three and scattered two runs and six hits, but he did not figure into the decision ... Herman managed to extend his scoreless innings streak to 11.1 IP before ACU pushed across a pair of runs with one out in the fifth ... however the junior battled back to record his final strikeout and induced an inning-ending foul out to end his day. 
* - Herman, who will start Sunday's finale at SFA, enjoyed arguably his finest outing as a Trailblazer the road win at GCU (4/21), against which he struck out a career-high eight in seven shutout innings ... Herman, who will start Sunday's finale vs. ACU, surrendered only two hits and two walks and needed 98 pitches to navigate his way through his career-best seven IP. 
* - Herman's eight punch outs at GCU bested his previous career high of six he recorded last season at Oklahoma State (3/12/23).
* - Sophomore Evan Vasiliou picked up Utah Tech's lone victory vs. Tarleton (4/13) after he fired a career-high 7.0 innings of two-hit baseball in the 4-1 win back on April 13 ... Vasiliou, who will start Friday's opener at SFA, struck out one and surrendered only one run and allowed just five total base runners. 
* - Vasiliou recorded 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.
 
ABOUT THE SFA "LUMBERJACKS": Like Utah Tech, SFA has been scuffling of late as the Lumberjacks have recorded only three wins since the calendar turned to April. Two of those victories came in WAC play, including a home win over ACU (2-1, 4/5), and an 11-10 road decision at UTRGV last Friday in Edinburg. 
            Redshirt freshman UT Brock Knoerr (.304/.375/.376) is the Jacks' top hitter with a .304 average with eight doubles and six RBI. Meanwhile senior INF Nolan Brown (.282/.556/.368) leads SFA with 21 XBH, including a team-high nine home runs, to go with 12 doubles and 19 RBI.
            As a team, SFA is hitting at a .244 clip and averages 4..2 runs and 7.9 hits a game, while the Jacks' pitching staff owns a 9.51 team ERA and has struck out 303 in 368.0 IP. 
 
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech returns home for a Tuesday afternoon match-up against in-state foe Utah. First pitch at Bruce Hurst Field is set for 4:05 p.m.