Utah Tech dropped the middle game of its three-game WAC home series to in-state foe Utah Valley by a 6-3 count on Saturday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. 
 
The Trailblazers (15-15/1-4) found themselves facing a 3-0 second inning deficit after the first four Wolverines reached on base hits off of starter Ryan Martinez (L, 1-1). UVU (20-10/6-2 WAC) got on the scoreboard after a Brody Block RBI-single, which was followed by a Jimmy De Anda double and a Blazer error that plated two more runs.
 
Utah Tech got two of those runs back in the home third thanks to a one-out Kace Naone (2) home run. The Blazers later had a chance for a pair of add-on runs after Ryan Kroepel and Finnegan Stewart both reached on consecutive walks after the Naone long ball, but UVU starter Colton Kennedy (W, 2-0) escaped further damage with a fly out and a strikeout. 
 
Martinez settled in after that rough second inning, retiring 18 of the next 22 Wolverine batters he faced after the De Anda double. The junior righthander struck out four and held UVU to one unearned run and three total hits over his next five-plus innings of work.
 
Martinez came out to start the eighth inning, but his afternoon would quickly come to an abrupt end after Mason Strong and Landon Frei both homered to open the frame to turn a 4-3 game into a 6-3 Wolverine advantage.    
 
Meanwhile Utah Tech's offense managed only five hits and one run, and stranded seven runners on the base paths after the Naone homer. The lone Blazer run over that stretch came in the sixth when Petey Soto Jr. doubled to left center, advanced to third on a botched pick-off attempt, and stole home three pitches later after the UVU error. 
 
The Trailblazers wound up with nine hits on the afternoon, with Kyle McDaniel and Gavin Long each collecting two safeties apiece. 
 
Utah Tech will look to salvage the final game of the three-game set on Sunday beginning 12:05 p.m. (MT).