(Riverside, Calif. - Feb. 7, 2025) - The Trailblazers got the 2025 season underway on Friday afternoon at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament splitting a pair of games against UC Riverside at Amy S. Harrison Softball Field.
Utah Tech (1-1) earned an 8-0 shutout win in game one and was leading 7-4 through three innings in game two before falling to the Highlanders, 9-7.
The first game saw UT tally 10 hits with three Trailblazers notching two hits apiece.
Sadie Gardner,
Brooklyn Dowdle and
Kinley Pappas each recorded two hits with one double apiece from Gardner and Pappas.
Marisa Rubio scored a pair of runs while six other Trailblazers scored one run apiece. In the circle, junior
Sauren Garton tossed a two-hit shutout striking out six while walking four to earn the win.
Game two saw the Trailblazers collect 11 hits highlighted by a 3-for-3 performance from
Carly Eldredge. UT also got two hits apiece out of Gardner,
Rylie Haith and
Cassidy Hornung.
Sophomore
Riley Price made her Trailblazer debut in the circle tossing 4.2 innings before giving way to freshman
Lexie Wilson for the final 1.1 innings.
Game 1 Recap
After a scoreless first two innings, the Trailblazers got on the board first in the top of the third inning after Gardner stole home after reaching base with a leadoff single.
A one-out RBI single down the left field line by
Drew McKown drove home Rubio for a 2-0 lead.
Three more runs came home in the sixth inning to extend the Trailblazers' lead to 5-0 after scoring one run on a UCR fielding error and two more on an RBI double to left by Gardner.
Two more RBI base knocks in the seventh pushed the UT lead to 8-0. Preseason All-WAC selection
LB Kahahawai-Kekona drove in pinch-runner Hornung and Dowdle brang in two Trailblazers with a single to center field.
With Garton holding the Highlanders to a pair of singles through six innings, Garton worked around a one-out walk to retire the final two batters she faced to seal the shutout win.
Game 2 Recap
The nightcap saw the Trailblazers jump out to a 3-0 lead with RBI base singles by Eldredge and Haith and a sacrifice fly by Pappas.
Allowing their first run of the season in the bottom of the frame, the Trailblazers extended their lead to 5-1 with an RBI single by Kahahawai-Kekona and Hornung swiping home base.
Three more runs for UCR cut the UT lead down to 5-4, but the Trailblazers kept the offense humming in third inning with two more runs. A sacrifice fly by Kahahawai-Kekona and an RBI single by Eldredge extended the Utah Tech lead to 7-4.
Two runs in the fourth for the Highlanders, both scoring on RBI singles, and an RBI double in the fifth locked up the game at seven apiece after five innings.
The eventual game-winning runs came around to score for UCR in the sixth scoring a pair of runs on RBI doubles to push their lead to 9-7 as UT was unable to get a rally started going down in order in the seventh.
Up Next
The Trailblazers continue action on Saturday afternoon at the Easton Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton facing CSUN (0-2) at 2:30 p.m. and Southern (0-2) at 5 p.m. at Anderson Family Field.
