Traveling to Riverside, California, to open the 2026 season, the Utah Tech baseball team took four wins from four against the University of California, Riverside, Feb. 13-15.
If you missed a game, you can also listen to the links below each game recap.
Game 1
Opening Day saw the Trailblazers get off to a quick start, scoring the first run of the game in the top of the first via a Ryan Kroepel RBI base knock.
UC Riverside answered with a run in the bottom of the third, and both teams added scores in the fourth as the game remained tied at 2-2.
A Highlander error and a Kroepel grounder got the Trailblazers back in front with a run in the sixth, and the momentum would carry over into the seventh frame.
Utah Tech’s offense – aided by UCR walks and wild pitches – exploded for six runs in the top of the inning, taking a 9-2 lead.
The Highlanders responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame to make it a 9-4 score, but three more Trailblazer runs in the eighth led the way to a 12-5 season-opening victory.
UT’s offense was on full display in the series opener, scoring the 12 runs on 15 hits while also drawing 10 walks and a pair of hit by pitches.
Tyler Ray gave Utah Tech a strong start on the mound, tossing six innings of two-run ball, scattering seven hits and striking out three.
Multiple Trailblazers had big days at the plate, as second baseman Kyle McDaniel went 3-for-4 at the plate while drawing three walks and recording an RBI.
Preseason WAC Player of the Year Kroepel added a pair of hits and four runs driven in, while first baseman Miller Durham went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two base on balls in his Utah Tech debut after transferring from the College of Southern Nevada.
“I really like the way we came out,” Utah Tech head coach Chris Pfatenhauer said following the season’s first win.
“Tyler Ray gave us a chance early. We stranded a ton of runners, so that got a little nerve-racking, but I liked our hitters’ approach. Just need a little bit more from our bullpen,” he added.
Game 2
Due to impending inclement weather, the Trailblazers and Highlanders battled it out in a doubleheader Feb. 14.
UC Riverside would get scoring started in the first game of the twinbill, as Logan Bonham smacked a two-run home run to left field to make it 2-0.
Utah Tech answered with two runs in the third, with Kyle McDaniel and Kroepel knocking base hits to even the score at 2-2.
The Highlanders retook the lead with a score in the bottom of the third, but the Trailblazers tied it up again in the top of the fourth via a Gavin Long sacrifice fly.
The next inning, UT would get back in front, this time for good.
In the top of the fifth, Hudson Manwaring singled with one out, then stole second. A groundout advanced the center fielder to third, which Finnegan Stewart followed by drawing a walk. Moments later, a wild pitch by the Highlanders scored Manwaring for the 4-3 lead.
With the game in the balance heading to the sixth, two-way star Kroepel traded his third base spot for the pitcher’s mound, where he pitched two scoreless innings to record the save and preserve the win.
On the mound, freshman David Sheppard made his collegiate debut, delivering a solid outing of 4.1 innings, four hits, three runs, and two strikeouts.
McDaniel and Kroepel led the way at the plate, each recording two hits and an RBI.
Game 3
45 minutes following the first game of the day, UT took the field for another seven-inning contest, looking for the twin bill sweep.
The Trailblazers started with a run in the first inning to take the lead, then used a big seven-run third frame to make it an 8-0 ball game.
UCR would finally break through with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 8-2 and force UT starter Dakoda West to exit the game.
A Trailblazer run in the top of the sixth pushed the lead back to nine, but the Highlanders would respond with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 9-4.
Utah Tech would plate three runs in the top of the seventh, and leading by eight runs, needed just three more outs to secure the win.
Instead, trouble out of the Trailblazer bullpen and a four-run inning from the Highlanders made it a 12-8 game.
With no outs and two runners on base, Kroepel once again moved from third base to the hill as he attempted to put an end to the UC Riverside comeback.
After making a diving stop on a bunt attempt for the first out, the Arizona State University transfer recorded a strikeout and forced a fly out to record his second save in as many games and secure the victory.
“I kind of just did my thing up there,” the junior 3B/P from Poway, California, said post-game of the two-save day.
“I was feeling good. I closed the game before this, so I kind of had my feet wet. I knew what to expect, and we got the job done.”
West gave UT another strong pitching start, lasting 4.2 innings while allowing six hits and two runs and striking out three batters.
Four different Trailblazers had two hits at the plate (McDaniel, Durham, Gavin Glasgow, Petey Soto, Jr.), while Finnegan Stewart drove in three runs.
Game 4
Playing its fourth game in three days, Utah Tech rolled to an 8-0 victory to secure the series sweep and start the season 4-0.
The game was scoreless through the first three innings, but the Trailblazer bats would come alive in the top of the fourth.
Plating six runs in the frame, Ty Johnsen, Soto, Manwaring, Kroepel (2), and Stewart all drove in teammates on the basepaths to make it 6-0.
Utah Tech added a run in both the seventh and eighth innings to make it 8-0, and the Highlanders would only push one run across as the Trailblazers wrapped up an 8-1 victory.
New Trailblazer starting pitcher Brandon Kosel, a junior transfer from Scottsdale Community College, fired a gem on the mound.
The Albuquerque, New Mexico native pitched 6.1 innings, striking out four and allowing just three hits and no runs.
“It’s super exciting,” Kosel said postgame.
“It’s obviously my first outing at Utah Tech, and I was just very excited to get out there.”
With the win, the Trailblazers are a perfect 4-0 and are off to their best start to a season at the D1 level, and best overall since starting 9-0 in 2020.
“I feel great, really good,” Utah Tech head coach Chris Pfatenhauer said following the sweep.
“That’s a team (UC Riverside) we lost a series to last year, and to show up opening weekend and play the way we did, I think it’s a huge thing for our players, just the work they’ve put in,” he added.
Up next
The Trailblazers continue their season-opening eight-game road swing across the Golden State, facing California State University, Bakersfield, Feb. 17, before a three-game series at the University of the Pacific Feb. 19-21.
Utah Tech’s first home series at Bruce Hurst Field is slated for Feb. 27-March 1 vs. the University of Northern Colorado.
This article was originally written for Utah Tech’s student newspaper, Sun News.
Photo credit: Gideon Obienu for Utah Tech Athletics.
