Utah Tech University Athletics

Utah Tech advanced on to day #3 of the 2026 University Credit Union Western Athletic Conference Tournament on the strength of a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over Abilene Christian in an elimination round game on Thursday night at Hohokam Stadium.
 
Thursday night's win moved the third-seeded Trailblazers into another elimination game against No. 4 seed Sacramento State on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. (MDT). The win also marked the sixth time in the program's NCAA era that the Trailblazers reached the 35-win plateau (35-23). 
 
Utah Tech found itself down 4-2 after five innings complete after the Wildcats took advantage of a combined four Trailblazer errors, which led to all four ACU (26-31) runs.
 
The Blazers managed to pull two of those runs back in with the long ball, starting in the third when Kace Naone led off frame with his fifth home run of the season that sailed over the left centerfield wall. 
 
Then with one out in the fifth, Petey Soto Jr. ambushed an Evan Whiteaker offering and sent it toward the scoreboard beyond the left field wall for his sixth homer of the year. 
 
Utah Tech's offense picked up its defense in the home sixth, striking for four two-out runs to come all the way back and take a 6-4 lead.
 
Naone made it a 4-3 game with a perfectly placed safety squeeze bunt down the third base line with the bases loaded
 
Soto Jr. was then walked ahead of Kyle McDaniel, who laced an opposite field single to left center to put the Blazers on top at 5-4. 
 
Hudson Manwaring followed that with a single of his own on the very next pitch, which chased home Soto Jr. with a big insurance run.
 
From there, Utah Tech's bullpen tandem of Brock Roundy (W, 3-3) and Easton Brooks (S, 3) combined to limit ACU to only one run and two hits over the final three innings.
 
Roundy, who came on in the fifth inning, scattered one earned run (three total) on three hits with three strikeouts over 2.1 innings of work.
 
Meanwhile Brooks, who entered the game with one out in the seventh, held the Wildcats scoreless on one hit the rest of the way with five punch outs, including striking out the side in the ninth to close out the win. 
 
The duo came on in relief of senior starter Ryan Martinez (ND), who allowed only one earned run (two total) and five hits in four solid innings. 
 
Eight different Trailblazers had at least one hit as Utah Tech outhit ACU 11-9. Manwaring doubled and had three hit to lead the way, while McDaniel finished with two safeties to go with his two RBI.