Utah Tech came away with a split of the first two games of its WAC road series in a doubleheader at Stephen F. Austin on Saturday afternoon at Pilgrim's Park.
 
The Trailblazers led wire-to-wire to take the opening game, 10-2, but could not complete the Saturday sweep as SFA used a trio of big innings to rally for a 12-4 win in the nightcap. 
 
In game one, the Trailblazers (11-35/9-17 WAC) tallied six first inning runs, thanks in large part to five SFA walks, three of which came with the bases loaded, along with one hit batter and only one base hit. 
 
The lone hit in the frame came on an Ethan He RBI-infield single, while Utah Tech plated the final run on the back end of a failed double steal attempt.
 
The early run support was more than enough for sophomore lefthander Evan Vasiliou (W, 4-5), who struck out three and scattered two runs (one earned) and six hits over six innings complete to earn his fourth win of the season.
 
He would add to his RBI total in the sixth with a clutch two-run single, while Utah Tech added two more runs in the eighth inning to extend to a 10-2 cushion.
 
After Kyle McDaniel was plunked with one out in the eighth, Hank Dodson made the Lumberjacks pay with his fifth home run of the season. 
 
Junior reliever Ky Decker (S, 1) took the rest of the way as he fanned three in three innings of one-hit relief en route his first save of the season. 
 
He (3-for-4) posted his sixth career three-hit game, while his three RBI was one off of his career high. 
 
Meanwhile McDaniel wound up 1-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored and a career-best three stolen bases. The freshman became just the fifth Trailblazer in the program's NCAA era, and the second during Utah Tech's current Division I transition, to steal at least three bases in one game. 
 
Utah Tech finished with eight hits, while all nine of the Trailblazers starting line-up each reached base safely, with eight of them each scoring at least one run. 
 
The Trailblazers kept the vibe going to begin the nightcap, turning a lead-off McDaniel single and a one-out Hunter Katschke double into a pair of first inning runs to open up an early lead.
 
SFA (8-39/4-22 WAC) managed to get one of those runs back in the second, only to see the Lumberjack defense give Utah Tech its two-run lead back in the fourth.
 
Petey Soto Jr. reached on a lead-off error and after he advanced to second base on a groundout, the freshman stole third and scampered home when the throw to the bag sailed down the left field line.
 
However the Lumberjacks would answer one inning later with four runs, three of which came a pair of homers, to erase the deficit and take their first lead of the day at 5-3 after five innings complete.
 
After Utah Tech failed to score in the sixth, SFA broke the game open with three runs in the sixth, and four more in the seventh to put the game away. 
 
Utah Tech was limited to only five hits in game two, with both McDaniel and Katschke each collecting a pair of hits with a double. McDaniel was also credited with his fourth stolen base of the day and finished with two runs scored. 
 
The Trailblazers will look to clinch the overall series win in Sunday's finale at 11 a.m. (MT).