Aaron Perez two-out home run in the top of the 10^th inning helped Utah Tech baseball open Western Athletic Conference play with a hard-fought 3-2 road victory at California Baptist on Friday night at Totman Stadium.
 
With the win, the Trailblazers extended their season-long win streak to seven-straight and improved to 14-11 overall. The extra-inning triumph also snapped Utah Tech's six-game, extra-inning losing skid, as the Blazers moved to 36-25 all-time in extra innings, including an 18-14 mark in 10-inning games. 
 
The two sides were locked into an old-fashioned pitcher's duel through seven scoreless innings, with sophomore righthander Cade Montgomery (ND) striking out a career-high nine while limiting a potent Lancer offense to just four total hits in six innings of work.
 
Meanwhile Montgomery's counterpart, CBU leftie Cody New (ND) also kept the Trailblazers off the scoreboard and scattered five hits with four strikeouts in six innings complete.
 
Utah Tech finally broke through in the top of the eighth, thanks in part to some clutch hitting and two costly Lancer errors. 
 
With one out in the frame, Hunter Katschke reached on an infield throwing error and advanced to second base on the play. Katschke was lifted for pinch runner Aden Dance, who would scamper to third on an errant pick off throw.
 
Kyle McDaniel then cashed in the two miscues with a single through the right side past a drawn in infield to plate dance with the game's first run. 
 
McDaniel later stole second and came around to score on a clean single to left field off the bat of Finnegan Stewart to stake Utah Tech to a 2-0 lead.
 
CBU (11-11/0-1 WAC) cut the lead in half in the home eighth on a one-out Ben Castelli homer to right field, and managed to load the bases on a hit batter and a pair of two-out walks.
 
However Blazer reliever Aaron Morris quelled a potentially big Lancer rally with an inning-ending ground out.
 
The Lancers eventually tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth after a lead-off walk to Julian Alvarez, who then went first-to-third on a Bubba Rocha and scored on a passed ball.
 
Then following an intentional walk to set-up a possible double play, Utah Tech reliever Ryan Kroepel struck out the next two batters he faced and induced a ground ball out to send the game to extra innings.
 
After CBU reliever Nico Urquidi (L, 1-2) set down the first two Trailblazers he faced to begin the 10^th, Perez stepped up and ambushed the first pitch he saw from the Lancer hurler and sent it well over the right field wall.
 
Kroepel (W, 2-1) then worked around a one-out double in the home 10^th to close out the thrilling series opening win.
 
McDaniel and Perez finished with three hits apiece, while Kroepel, who started the game at third base, collected two safeties of his own, as Utah Tech outhit CBU 11-7. 
 
The two teams will play game two of their three-game conference series on Saturday night at 6 p.m. (MT).