Ty Johnsen homered and drove in a career high four runs, while senior hurler Dakoda West fired six solid innings, to help lead Utah Tech to a 12-2 run-rule victory over Azusa Pacific on Saturday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field.
 
The Trailblazers (21-13/2-1 WAC) opened the scoring in the home first, turning a walk and a pair of two-out hit batters into two runs thanks a Cooper Smith single to center field.
 
APU (23-22) clapped back with two runs of its own an inning later, only to see Utah Tech answer with three more tallies to extend to a 5-2 advantage after two innings complete.
 
The Blazers then broke the game open in the fourth, striking for four runs to stretch their lead to 9-2.
 
Mays Madsen started the rally with an opposite field single to left, and after the freshman stole both second and third base, he trotted home on a Ryan Kroepel base knock.
 
Miller Durham followed that with a double to left center to put runners on second and third ahead of Johnsen, who drove an 0-1 Joey Frey pitch well over the left field wall to stake his side to a seven-run cushion.
 
The run support more than helped West (W, 3-3) settle in from there as the senior retired 12 of the next 15 Cougar batters he faced from the third inning on. The senior righthander struck out five and surrendered just the two runs and six hits on his afternoon.
 
Utah Tech tacked on three more runs in the sixth, while senior southpaw Brock Roundy struck out the side in the seventh, as the Trailblazers even the weekend series with APU at a game apiece. 
 
Utah Tech pounded out 13 hits on the day, with Madsen leading the way with career highs of three hits and two RBI. 
 
Meanwhile Johnsen, whose fourth inning homer was his second of the season, along Kyle McDaniel and Finnegan Stewart each collected two hits apiece. 
 
Utah Tech will look to clinch the series win in the rubber game of the three-game set on Sunday beginning at 12:05 p.m. (MT).