Softball | 5/4/2026 6:45:00 PM

(St. George, Utah - May 4, 2026) - The Trailblazers open the WAC Tournament on Wednesday night taking on No. 3 seed UT Arlington at 5 p.m. MT at Tarleton Softball Complex.

Game #51 - WAC TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Who | No. 3 Seed UT Arlington (24-21) vs. No. 6 Seed Utah Tech (18-32)
When |Wednesday, May 6 / 5 p.m. MT
Where | Tarleton Softball Complex / Stephenville, Texas
Broadcast | Live Stats | Watch
Social Media | Instagram + Twitter (X)

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TRAILBLAZERS WIN TWO OF THREE OVER ABILENE CHRISTIAN TO QUALIFY FOR WAC TOURNAMENT
The Trailblazers closed out the regular season last weekend taking two out of three games over Abilene Christian winning the final two games of the series to clinch a berth in the WAC Tournament.

After dropping a hard-fought 13-10 contest in eight innings in game one of a doubleheader against ACU, the Trailblazers bounced back in game two with a 6-3 victory breaking open a 2-2 tie with four straight runs, including three in the sixth, to force a winner-take-all contest on Saturday.

Falling behind 8-6 heading to the bottom of the sixth, the Trailblazers rallied in the frame to score three runs to complete the comeback win.

A one-out single by Sadie Phillips got the offense started followed by an RBI triple down the right field line by Kinley Pappas and an RBI double to right center by Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona tied up the contest.

After a single up the middle by Summer Sanderson & a walk by Kennedy Embrey loaded the bases, Howley drew a walk to bring home Kahahawai-Kekona for the eventual game-winning run.

TRAILBLAZERS HEAD TO WAC TOURNAMENT FOR THIRD TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
The Trailblazers will make their third appearance in the WAC Tournament in program history joining trips in 2023 (hosted by Grand Canyon) and 2024 (Seattle U).

Heading into the 2023 tournament as the No. 1 seed, Utah Tech fell 3-0 to Seattle U before downing UT Arlington, 6-4 with their tournament run ending with a 2-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin.

The 2024 tournament saw a close 7-6 loss to Southern Utah in the single elimination opening round.

ABOUT THE UT ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
UT Arlington is 24-21 overall on the season and enters the tournament as the No. 3 seed after finishing WAC play 12-6 overall.

The Mavericks, who have won six straight contests, won four of their six WAC series with sweeps over the Trailblazers & Southern Utah along with two of three games against Tarleton State and Abilene Christian.

As a team, UTA leads the conference averaging 6.8 runs per game and is fourth in the WAC hitting .301.

The Mavs lead the WAC in home runs (59) and are second in the conference in stolen bases (62) & slugging percentage (.519).

Freshman infielder Valeria Feeney leads the team hitting .359 while junior shortstop Peyton Holland leads the WAC in home runs with 14.

In the circle, UTA is fifth in the WAC in ERA (6.15) while allowing seven runs per game.

Sophomore pitcher Madi McDonnell ranks second in the conference in appearances (35) and is fourth in innings pitched (115.2) & wins (12).

SERIES HISTORY VS. OPPONENT (years they played)

• vs. UT Arlington - 6-7 (2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026)
• The Mavericks swept the Trailblazers 3-0 in St. George this season winning 15-4, 12-1 in five innings and 9-4.
• UTA has won five straight against the Trailblazers with UT's last win over the Mavs coming on March 7, 2025 with a 3-1 win in Arlington.
• The Trailblazers' lone WAC tournament win came against UT Arlington in 2023.

 WHERE THE TRAILBLAZERS RANK IN THE WAC
The Trailblazers lead the WAC in triples (18-12th nationally), rank third in batting average (.310), third in stolen bases (59) & doubles (74), fourth in slugging percentage (.463), hits (406) & fifth in home runs (30).

On the season, Kinley Pappas leads the WAC in batting average (.450), hits (72), doubles (21-4th nationally), slugging percentage (.863) & total bases (138) and is second in triples (6).

Sadie Phillips is second in the conference swiping 19 stolen bases while Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona is fourth with 14 stolen bases apiece.

RECORD WATCH DOWN THE STRETCH
Pappas has entered or nearing the top 10 in four different single season categories ranking second in doubles (21), third in slugging percentage (.863), fourth in total bases (138), batting average (.450) & triples (6), eighth in home runs (11) & RBI (51) and 10th in hits (72)

Senior Lakaiya-Braessia Kahahawai-Kekona is eighth in career at-bats (571) & 10th in hits (197) and is near the top 10 in doubles (37, 2 away), runs scored (126, 3 away) & walks drawn (62, 5 away).

Sadie Phillips is sixth (49) all-time in stolen bases and Kahahawai-Kekona tied for seventh in stolen bases (45).

PAPPAS EARNS THIRD WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
For the third time this season, Kinley Pappas earned WAC Player of the Week honors after helping the Trailblazers earn a series win over Abilene Christian to clinch a berth in the WAC Tournament hitting .615 from the plate going 8-for-13 from the dish with five extra-base knocks.

Notching three doubles, a triple and a home run, Pappas scored five runs, drove in seven RBI, totaled 16 bases and tallied a .615 on-base percentage & a 1.231 slugging percentage.

Pappas recorded multiple hits in all three games with a 3-for-5 performance tallying two doubles & a home run, scored two runs and drove in four RBI in a 13-10 eight-inning loss in game one against the Wildcats on Friday.

She followed that up in game two against ACU on Friday with a 3-for-4 showing with a double & two RBI in a 6-3 win and finished up the series on Saturday with a pair of hits, including a triple, and scored two runs in a comeback 9-8 victory.

WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS
Kinley Pappas - Player of the Week - Feb. 23, March 23, May 4
Kennedy Embrey - Player of the Week - March 30

TRAILBLAZERS IN THE NCAA ERA
Utah Tech is 662-358 (.649) overall in its 19 seasons in the NCAA era.

In his 16 seasons leading the Trailblazers in the NCAA era, Simkins is 559-310 (.643).

HOME RECORD AT KARL BROOKS FIELD
The Trailblazers are 332-123 at home in the NCAA era.

The Blazers are 289-109 at home under Simkins.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Utah Tech is 205-158 overall on the road in the NCAA era.

The Trailblazers are 183-137 on the road under Simkins.

NEUTRAL SITE MARK
Utah Tech is 125-77 overall at neutral sites in the NCAA era.

​​​​​​​The Blazers are 87-64 at a neutral site under Simkins.