SAINT GEORGE – Hosting the final game of the 2026 Beehive Classic March 1, the Utah Tech University softball team secured a 4-0 win vs. Utah State University.
After the opening two innings were scoreless, the Trailblazers would break through in the third against the Aggies.
Drew McKown led off the inning with a base hit up the middle, and two batters later, Kinley Pappas laced a double to center field to make it 1-0.
Sadie Phillips followed with a single, but a strikeout then put two outs on the scoreboard with two runners on base.
Up stepped third baseman Gabi Giroux, who smacked a double to score two runs and make it a 3-0 ballgame.
“When I go into the box, I am always locked in,” the junior biology major from Centennial, Colorado, said of her clutch hit.
“I always think, ‘just smack one as hard as you can,” Giroux added.
Utah Tech would add one more run in the inning courtesy of a Baylee Howley RBI single, giving the home team a 4-0 advantage.
While those were the only runs scored for the Trailblazers, they wouldn’t require any more.
The Aggies were unable to muster a response, as senior pitcher Sauren Garton dominated in the circle for UT.
Tossing her first complete game of the season, the marketing major from Pendleton, Oregon, held Utah State to just three hits while striking out three batters to complete the shutout.
“It felt good to get back out there. I struggled on our first two days, so today I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again,” Garton said of her performance.
“I really wanted to attack the zone and rely on my defense to make plays behind me, and they played really well for me, so I was confident,” she added.
With the win, the Trailblazers improve to 8-11 on the season.
While they notched their first shutout win of the campaign, UT also made it back-to-back wins to close out the home tournament.
“Utah State’s a really good team. I thought Sauren was about as good as she’s been all year, maybe even last year,” Utah Tech head coach Randy Simkins said.
Utah Tech now turns its attention to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Red and Black Classic, March 6-8.
“The competition only gets better,” Simkins said of his team’s upcoming road trip.
The Trailblazers will first take on Loyola Marymount University and UNLV March 6, before playing LMU and North Dakota State University March 7. UT finishes its weekend in Sin City with a matchup with NDSU March 8.
“It’ll be a good test for us. We just hope we can go down and play well like we did the last couple of days,” he added.
This article was originally written for Utah Tech’s student newspaper, Sun News.
Photo credit: Brooklyn Fehr, Utah Tech Athletics.
