Hunter Katschke belted a two-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the 10^th inning to propel Utah Tech baseball to a thrilling 10-9 victory over Seattle U in the first game of a pivotal WAC three-game home series on Friday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field.
 
Utah Tech (18-2/4-12 WAC) led 3-1 after three innings complete, erasing an early 1-0 deficit with a single run the second and two more in the home third.
 
Ty Johnsen got the Trailblazers on the scoreboard with an opposite field single to right to plate Katschke, who doubled to lead off the frame.
 
Kyle McDaniel led off the Blazer third with his with his third homer of the season to give his side its first lead of the day, while Finnegan Stewart made a two-run lead with a two-out single later in the stanza.
 
Seattle U (15-28/4-12 WAC) cut that lead half in the fourth after a bases-loaded passed ball led to a run, only to see the Utah Tech answer with a consecutive run-scoring singles from both Kroepel and Katschke in the home fourth that extended the Blazer advantage to 5-2.
 
Unfortunately that lead would be short-lived as the Redhawks took advantage of costly two-out Trailblazer error in the fifth, which ultimately led to three unearned runs that tied the game at 5-5. Seattle U then jumped back in front by a run an inning later thanks to a Sam Kane RBI-single. 
 
From there it was a see-saw affair with the two teams trading the lead back-and-forth over the next four innings.
 
Utah Tech wrestled the lead away in the seventh with a pair of runs scored on a bases-loaded ground out and a Redhawk throwing error.
 
Seattle U clapped back an inning later with a bases loaded sacrifice fly out that tied the game at 7-7. However an errant throw back into the infield later in the play found its way into the Redhawks' dugout, which allowed another run to score to put Seattle U back on top at 8-7. 
 
The Trailblazers would tie things up again at 8-8 in the home eighth thanks to a clutch Aaron Perez two-out single.
 
After a scoreless ninth inning sent the game to extra innings, Redhawk catcher Jake Wagoner untied it with a two-out solo homer over the left field wall.
 
Redhawk reliever Kenny Ishikawa, who started the game in left field and was listed as Sunday's starting pitcher, then came on and quickly recorded the first two outs to begin the Blazer 10^th. 
 
Kroepel kept the Trailblazers alive with an opposite field single to left ahead of Katschke, who ambushed a 1-0 Ishikawa offering and sent it well over the wall in left center for the walk-off win.
 
Katschke finished a triple shy of the cycle as he went 4-for-6 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored. Additionally, Katschke's walk-off homer was Utah Tech's first in the program's NCAA era, and was the first since the 2020 season when former All-American Jake Engel walked off Azusa Pacific with a two-run blast (2/14/20).  

In fact, eight of the nine Trailblazers in the starting line-up recorded at least one hit, including five hitters with two hits apiece, as Utah Tech rapped out 16 safeties on the day.
 
Meanwhile McDaniel, who has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 games overall, extended his Division I-era school record on-base streak to 29-straight games thanks to his third inning solo homer. 
 
The two teams will play game two of their three-game conference series on Saturday afternoon beginning at 2:05 p.m. (MT).