Utah Tech kicked off the 2026 season on a winning note with a 12-5 Opening Day road victory at UC Riverside on Friday afternoon at the Riverside Sports Complex.
The Trailblazer offense wasted little time getting going, thanks to lead-off hitter
Kyle McDaniel, who laced the first pitch of the season to left center for a single. The base knock quickly extended McDaniel's NCAA-era school record on-base streak to 43-straight games, and his career-long hit streak to 14-staight games.
McDaniel was then bunted to second and later scored the game's first run one batter later when
Ryan Kroepel pulled a ball through the right side for his first hit and RBI of the year.
After UCR (0-1) pulled even with a run in the home second, McDaniel struck again in the top of the fourth for his first RBI of the season to put Utah Tech back on top at 2-1.
Petey Soto Jr. led off the frame with a sharp single to left and took second on a passed ball. McDaniel followed that with a perfect bunt into the hole in the vacated right side of the Highlander infield on the play, which allowed Soto Jr. to score on the single.
The Highlanders would again tie the game in the home fifth, but a crucial one-out UCR in the sixth allowed Utah Tech to jump back on top at 3-2 after a Kroepel run-scoring groundout.
Utah Tech (1-0/0-0 WAC) then broke the game open in the seventh with six two-out runs.
Miller Durham doubled to start the rally and after he took third on a groundout,
Hudson Manwaring flew out to center to chase him home.
Andrew Pyle kept the inning alive with a double of his own and scampered home carrying Utah Tech's fifth run of the day on a Soto Jr. hustle bloop double to shallow center.
Utah Tech later loaded the bases and scored two more runs on consecutive wild pitches. Durham then capped the rally with a high-chopper down the first base that brought home two more runs as the Blazers sent 12 batters to the plate and headed into the stretch with a 9-2 cushion.
UCR clapped back with two runs in the home seventh to trim the deficit to five, only the see Blazers answer with three runs in the eighth, two of which scored on a two-out Kroepel single.
Utah Tech rapped out 15 hits on the day, with McDaniel leading the way with three hits to go with three walks and four runs scored.
Meanwhile Durham pounded out three hits and drove in three runs in his Trailblazer debut at first base, and Kroepel collected two hits and four RBI. In addition,
Kace Naone and Soto Jr. recorded two hits apiece.
The run support bolstered a solid season debut turned in by senior righthander
Tyler Ray (W, 1-0), who struck out three and scattered two runs on three hits over six innings complete.
The two teams will play games two and three of their four-game weekend series in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 noon (MT).
