(Las Vegas - March 7, 2026) - The Trailblazers split day two of action on Saturday at the UNLV Red & Black Classic defeating Loyola Marymount, 4-2 and fell 10-2 in five innings to North Dakota State at Eller Media Softball Stadium.
Utah Tech (9-14) tallied four hits in its second contest of the tournament against LMU and added five base knocks versus NDSU.
In the first game against the Lions,
Kinley Pappas led the way going 2-for-4 with a single, double and RBI.
Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona added a sacrifice fly, walk and scored a run.
Lexie Wilson made her fourth start of the season tossing 2.1 innings before
Sauren Garton came in for the final 4.2 innings to earn her third win of the season shutting out LMU allowing only four hits and struck out two.
The second contest saw another two-hit performance from Pappas who added a walk and RBI.
Baylee Howley tallied her fifth double of the season and scored a run.
Three Trailblazers saw action in the circle with
Delaney Wright getting the start striking out five in 3.2 innings of work.
How It Happened vs. LMU
Jumping on the board first with a pair of runs in the top of the first, an RBI double to center by Pappas got the scoring started followed by an RBI single from
Summer Sanderson put UT up 2-0.
The Lions evened the game at two apiece with one run apiece in the second and third innings before the Trailblazers scored the deciding two runs in the fourth.
Leading off the frame with walks by
Jayda Gleave and
Drew McKown, pinch-runner
Sadie Phillips came on base to run for Gleave and came around to score after a throwing error by LMU.
Kahahwai-Kekona followed with a sacrifice fly to center to drive in pinch-runner
Cemryn Pickett to add an insurance run.
With the Lions poised to answer back in the bottom of the fourth, LMU loaded the bases with no outs, but Garton stranded the bases full of baserunners with a strikeout, infield flu and ground out.
The Lions could only get a baserunner as far as second base over the last three innings to drop only their sixth game of the season.
How It Happened vs. NDSU
The nightcap saw the Trailblazers limited to only two runs, scoring once apiece in the third and fourth, but four multi-run innings for the Bison proved to be too much.
An RBI single to center by Pappas in the third cut NDSU's lead to 2-1, but the Bison quickly answered back with two runs to push their lead to 4-1.
The final run of the contest for the Trailblazers came after a fielding error by the Bison allowed Howley to score an unearned run.
It was all Bison from there as they notched back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth to win by run-rule.
Up Next
The Trailblazers wrap up action at the UNLV Red & Black Classic on Sunday morning taking on North Dakota State at 10:30 a.m.
