(St. George, Utah - May 1, 2026) - The Trailblazers split a doubleheader against Abilene Christian on Friday falling 13-10 in eight innings in game one before prevailing for a 6-3 victory in game two at Karl Brooks Field.
Staying alive for a berth in next week's WAC Tournament, Utah Tech (17-32, 4-13 WAC) and Abilene Christian (7-40, 4-13 WAC) will play for the series win on Saturday afternoon with the winner claiming the No. 6 seed and advancing to the WAC Tournament.
The Trailblazers were able to find their offense all day long tallying 13 hits in game one and notched 14 base knocks in game two.
Four Trailblazers tallied multi-hit contests in game one with three-hit performances from
Kinley Pappas and
Lauren Jones along with two-hit outings by
Sadie Phillips and
Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona.
Pappas tallied a pair of doubles, smacked her team-leading 11th home run, scored a pair of runs and drove in four RBI.
Game two saw three Trailblazers each register three hits apiece in Pappas, Phillips and Kahahawai-Kekona while
Summer Sanderson hit her seventh homer of the season.
In the circle,
Sauren Garton made the start in game one going an inning before giving way to
Delaney Wright for six innings with the final inning going to
Riley Price.
The second game saw
Lexie Wilson earn her eighth win of the season tossing 6.1 innings limiting the Wildcats to three runs while striking out three.
Garton came on to get the final two outs of the seventh to earn her first save of the season.
How It Happened Game One
A back-and-forth opening game saw the Trailblazers pick up the game's first run in the first inning on an RBI to left field by Pappas.
The Wildcats answered with five runs in the second to jump ahead 5-1, but the Trailblazers quickly answered back with four runs, including a three-run round-tripper by Pappas to tie the contest at five.
An RBI single by Jones in the third put UT back ahead 6-5, but that lead was short-lived as ACU answered back with back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the fourth.
The Trailblazers responded right back in the bottom of the frame with two runs of their own on an RBI triple to center by Kahahawai-Kekona and a sacrifice fly by Sanderson.
The Wildcats again responded with a three-run sixth inning to regain a 10-8 lead, but as they did all game, the Trailblazers came right back with a pair of runs.
An RBI double to left by Sanderson drove home
Gabi Giroux followed by an RBI single by
Kennedy Embrey knotted the game at 10-10.
A scoreless seventh pushed the Trailblazers to extra innings for the first time since March 13 against Omaha as ACU brought around three runs in the top of the eighth to go up 13-10.
The Trailblazers were retired in order to close out the hard-fought battle.
How It Happened Game Two
Jumping ahead early in game two, the Trailblazers led 2-0 after the opening inning thanks to a two-run home run to center field by Sanderson.
ACU answered back with with one run apiece in the second and third innings on RBI doubles to tie the contest at two.
A two-out single by Phillips in the bottom of the fourth kept the frame alive and after moving to second on a wild pitch, Phillips came around to score on an RBI single by Pappas to go ahead 3-2.
Three more runs came home for the Trailblazers in the sixth to extend their lead to 6-2 after consecutive RBI base hits by Phillips, Pappas and Kahahawai-Kekona.
One final run came home for the Wildcats in the seventh on an RBI single to knock Wilson from the contest, but Garton came in and worked around a single and walk to retire the next two batters and seal the Trailblazers' first win since April 7 at CSU Bakersfield.
Up Next
The series wraps up on Saturday afternoon with Senior Day at Noon as the Trailblazers will honor their six seniors prior to the start of the contest.
