Hosting former PacWest Conference and DII era rival Azusa Pacific University April 10-12, Utah Tech University baseball notched a series win after dropping the opener.
The battle on April 10 got away early for the Trailblazers, as APU built a lead early and built it up to an 11-2 advantage.
Utah Tech did its best to close the gap late, as Cooper Smith‘s first career grand slam highlighted a five-run inning to make it an 11-7 score.
The Trailblazers added one more in the ninth inning to cut the deficit to three, 11-8, but a defensive triple play by the Cougars ended the game and slammed the door on the comeback chance.
UT rebounded April 11 after the upset loss the day before, running away to a 12-2 run-rule victory after seven innings.
This time, the Trailblazers were the team that broke out the bats early, as Smith laced a two-run single in the bottom of the first to make it 2-0.
Azusa Pacific answered with a pair of runs in the second to tie the game, but RBI base knocks by Mays Madsen and Ty Johnsen put UT back in front in the bottom of the frame, 5-2.
Utah Tech broke the game open in the fourth, as Johnsen blasted a three-run home run to make it 9-2, before adding three more scores in the sixth to stretch the advantage to 12-2.
Needing only three outs to secure the win with the double-digit run lead, Brock Roundy struck out three out of the bullpen to seal the win.
“I thought Dakoda battled through some early command issues and then really settled in,” head coach Chris Pfatenhauer said after game two.
“Offensively, we just strung some at-bats together and cashed in runs when we had them in scoring position,” he added.
Madsen, a freshman undecided major from Lehi, had a strong game at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to go alongside two stolen bases.
“My mindset was just kind of to slow down, especially with my recent at-bats losing the barrel a little bit,” Madsen said after a career-high three-hit day.
“So today, I kind of just worked the opposite side, especially against that lefty, you don’t really see it as slow as that. I just had to work the other way, and it felt good to catch some barrels today,” he added,
Dakoda West settled in after a shaky start on the mound to earn the win, tossing six innings of two-run ball while allowing six hits and striking out five while throwing exactly 100 pitches.
Asked about his stamina level while throwing into the triple-digit pitch count, West, a senior exercise science major from Orem, was confident.
“It was actually going really well,” West said of his starting outing.
“After the second inning, I knew I kind of had to pick it back up after I went through a lot of pitches. It was really just competing and having my defense behind me,” he added.
The Trailblazers then closed out the series April 12, notching a 9-8 victory to take the series.
Utah Tech now turns its attention to a five-game stretch from April 14-20.
First, the Trailblazers host the University of Nevada, Las Vegas April 14 and Washington State University April 15. Both games are slated for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.
UT then hits the road for a three-game WAC Old Hammer Rivalry series at Utah Valley University April 17-19 before battling Brigham Young University April 20.
This article was originally written for Utah Tech’s student newspaper, Sun News Daily.
Photo credit: Brooklyn Fehr, Utah Tech Athletics.
