Utah Tech baseball used a late inning rally to even its three-game weekend road series at Southern Illinois with a 9-4 victory on Saturday afternoon at Itchy Jones Stadium.
 
The two sides were locked in a pitchers' duel through the first four innings. Senior righthander Dakoda West got off to another great start, striking out three while surrendering only two hits and one run while allowing only three total base runners.
 
Meanwhile Saluki southpaw Troy Shepard fanned four and limited Utah Tech to a Miller Durham fourth inning single and three walks to begin his afternoon.
 
After SIU (10-15) stretched its lead to 2-0 in the home fifth, the Trailblazers had their best chance to break into the scoring column for the first time in the series an inning later.
 
Hudson Manwaring singled and Ryan Kroepel walked to lead off the frame. Utah Tech (17-10) later loaded the bases thanks to a two-out Ty Johnsen free pass, but the Blazers were turned away as Saluki reliever Jack MacIntosh got SIU out of the jam with an inning-ending strikeout.
 
Utah Tech finally broke through in the seventh when after Blazer lead-off hitter Kyle McDaniel reached on a two-out walk, Manwaring rapped a sharp single to right field. 
 
The ball was then misplayed by the Saluki outfielder, which allowed McDaniel to score all the way from first base, while Manwaring advanced to third on the play with the tying run in tow. Unfortunately the Blazers were held to that one run as MacIntosh induced a Kroepel groundout to end the threat. 
 
SIU managed to get that run back in the home seventh when Jacob McKenzie singled in Henry Kufa, who doubled to lead off the stanza.
 
The Trailblazers roared right back in the eighth, striking for six runs on three hits and two costly Saluki errors to take their first lead of the series at 7-3.
 
Durham got the rally started with a one-out single. Johnsen was then walked ahead of Gavin Long, who doubled in Durham to cut the deficit to 3-2.
 
Following a Saluki pitching change, Andrew Pyle singled home Johnsen to tie the game at 3-3, while Long later scored the go-ahead run on an errant pick-off throw by SIU reliever Charlie Miller. 
 
Miller then walked Petey Soto Jr. and plunked McDaniel to load the bases. Manwaring drove in the fourth run of the inning on a fielder's choice. 
 
Manwaring went on to steal second and advanced to third on a wild pitch that scored Soto Jr. The junior outfielder later made it a 7-3 game when he scampered home on another Saluki throwing error.
 
Utah Tech called on Kroepel to move from third base to the mound, and the Trailblazer closer hurled two innings of one-run, four-hit relief with a punch out to wrap up the win. 
 
Manwaring, Durham and Long each collected two hits apiece to lead the Utah Tech offense, which tallied seven total safeties on the day. 
 
West (ND) pitched into the seventh inning and scattered three runs on five hits with four strikeouts. Sophomore reliever Talan Kelly (W, 5-0) came on in the seventh and retired three-straight Salukis en route to his fifth win out of the Blazer bullpen. 
 
Utah Tech will look to clinch the series win in the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday beginning at 12 noon (MT).