(St. George, Utah - May 2, 2026) - The Trailblazers won a thriller, 9-8 on Saturday afternoon against Abilene Christian on Senior Day at Karl Brooks Field to clinch a berth in the WAC Tournament.
With the victory, Utah Tech (18-32, 5-13 WAC) will be the No. 6 seed in next week's WAC Tournament and will face No. 3 seed UT Arlington in the first round on Wednesday night in Stephenville, Texas.
The Trailblazers tallied 14 base knocks in the contest with six, all by different Trailblazers, going for extra bases.
Senior
Sadie Phillips tallied her second-straight three-hit performance adding a pair of runs scored while
Kinley Pappas,
Summer Sanderson,
Kennedy Embrey &
Baylee Howley registered two hits apiece.
Freshman
Naya Taylor came on for a pinch-hit appearance in the fourth inning belting her first career home run while Pappas and Embrey added triples.
In the circle, senior
Sauren Garton made her team-leading 24th start of the season throwing the first four innings before giving way to
Lexie Wilson followed by 2.2 innings from freshman
Delaney Wright allowing only two hits to earn her fourth win of the season.
How It Happened
The Wildcats jumped ahead 3-0 after the first two-and-half innings scoring one run apiece in the top of the first, second and third innings before the Trailblazers finally jumped on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.
After a leadoff single by Phillips, she swiped second and was driven home after a single up the middle by Pappas. Pappas came around to score after a sacrifice fly by Sanderson.
The Trailblazers took their first lead of the afternoon jumping ahead 4-3 after Taylor's pinch-hit two-run home run in the fourth inning.
ACU quickly responded with a four-run fifth inning to take back the lead, 7-4, but Wright came on to limit the damage and strand the bases full of Wildcats.
The Trailblazers answered back with a pair of runs scoring one run apiece on back-to-back RBI base hits by Embrey and Howley to narrow ACU's lead to 7-6.
The Wildcats added a run in the sixth to go up 8-6, but with the Trailblazers down to their final two innings, UT came through with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to jump in front, 9-8.
A one-out single by Phillips got the offense started followed by an RBI triple down the right field line by Pappas and an RBI double to right center by
Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona tied up the contest.
After a single up the middle by Sanderson and a walk by Embrey loaded the bases, Howley drew a walk to bring home Kahahawai-Kekona for the eventual game-winning run.
Wright retired the Wildcats in order in the seventh, finishing the contest with a strikeout, to preserve the win and send the Trailblazers to the WAC Tournament.
Up Next
The Trailblazers are headed to the WAC Tournament for the third time in program history next week and will face No. 3 seed UT Arlington (24-21, 12-6 WAC) on Wednesday night in the opening round at 5 p.m. MT.
