Petey Soto Jr. homered and drove in a career-high six runs to help lead Utah Tech to a 13-3 run rule victory in seven innings over Sacramento State on Friday night at Bruce Hurst Field.
 
The Trailblazers (20-11/2-0 WAC) jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the second inning. Utah Tech scored all four runs with two outs in the frame, which was extended in large part due to two Sac State errors.
 
Soto Jr. singled in the first two runs of the night, and would later score on the back end of a double steal.
 
After Sacramento State (11-20/0-2 WAC) clapped back with a pair of runs in the third, the Blazers broke the game open with five more runs in the home half of the stanza to extend to a 9-2 advantage.
 
With a run in and the bases loaded with two outs in the inning, Soto Jr. ambushed a 1-0 pitch from Hornet reliever Chase Sorlie and sent well over the left field wall for his first collegiate grand slam. 
 
Soto Jr.'s grand slam, his second homer of the season overall, was also Utah Tech's single-season record breaking fourth of the season – all of which have come at home. 
 
Utah Tech went on to add another run to its total in the fourth and three more in the fifth to stretch its lead to double digits.
 
Meanwhile senior righthander Tyler Ray (W, 3-2), who came on for starter Dakoda West (ND) in the fourth, struck out a career high six and fired 3.2 innings of two-hit scoreless relief to earn the decision.
 
The Trailblazer rapped out 12 hits on the night, with catcher Ty Johnsen leading the way with a career-high tying four hits and four runs scored. Johnsen, who legged out a pair of doubles, also collected four hits last season in a road win, coincidentally, at Sacramento State (5/17/25).
 
Soto Jr. finished with two hits and two runs scored, while lead-off hitter Kyle McDaniel recorded a pair of hits with an RBI. Finnegan Stewart also drove in two runs, and Mays Madsen tied a school single-game record with four walks.
 
Thanks to Friday night's win, Utah Tech reached the 20-win plateau in 31 games, which is the program's fastest time to reach 20 victories in its brief time as a Division I program, and the ninth-fastest time in the program's 20-year NCAA era overall. 
 
Utah Tech will vie for a three-game WAC series sweep in Saturday's finale beginning at 12:05 p.m. (MT).