Utah Tech dropped the middle two games of its four-game weekend series with Austin Peay on Friday at Bruce Hurst Field.
 
The Trailblazers (12-3/0-0 WAC) were not able to protect a ninth-inning lead as they saw their season long seven-game win streak halted in a 10-5 setback in 10 innings in the opener, while APSU struck for three late-inning runs to hand Utah Tech a 7-4 loss in the nightcap. 
 
GAME #1
Trailing 2-0 in the home fourth, Utah Tech broke through with three runs, two of which came off of Kace Naone's second home run of the season. The Blazers later took a 3-2 lead when Ryan Kroepel walked, stole second, took third on a groundout, and scored on a two-out APSU throwing error.
 
Austin Peay (7-7) drew even in the seventh when with two on and one out, Trevor Conley tied the game with an RBI-groundout.
 
Utah Tech jumped back in the bottom of the eighth when Kroepel beat the throw home on a Gavin Long ground ball up the middle. The Blazers tacked on an insurance run two batters later thanks to a perfect squeeze bunt by Mays Madsen down the third base line, which chased home Long to make it a 5-3 game.
 
The Governors roared back in the ninth, tying the game with a two-out, two-run Cole Johnson home run. Then in the APSU 10^th, the Govs struck for five more runs before Utah Tech could record an out, and held on from there to earn their first win in the series.
 
Utah Tech pounded out nine hits in the loss, while the Blazer hitters were issued 10 walks and were hit by four pitches. However the Trailblazers were not able to get the key hits they needed as they combined to strand a season-high 18 baserunners, including leaving the bases loaded four times in the game.
 
The loss spoiled a solid start by senior righthander Tyler Ray (ND), who struck out three and surrendered only three run and four hits over seven innings complete. 
 
GAME #2
Utah Tech bolted out to a 3-0 second inning lead thanks a two-out, two-run Petey Soto Jr. triple, which was Blazers' first three-bagger of the season. Soto Jr. then scampered home on the play after the relay throw bounded through the infield. 
 
Senior righthander Dakoda West (L, 2-1), who struck out a career-high eight in his six-plus innings of work, had it on cruise control, limiting APSU to just one unearned run and one hit over five innings complete.
 
Unfortunately the Govs solved the senior in the sixth, touching him up for three runs in the frame to wrestle the lead away at 4-3.
 
The Trailblazers tied the game in their half of the sixth when Kyle McDaniel chased home Soto Jr., who blooped a hustle double to shallow center field.
 
Austin Peay broke the tie an inning later with two more runs off of West, then added an insurance run in the ninth to salt away the Friday sweep. 
 
McDaniel and Soto Jr. both rapped out two hits in the nightcap as Utah Tech outhit APSU 9-7. 
 
Utah Tech will look to salvage a series split in Saturday's finale beginning at 2:05 p.m.