Utah Tech University men’s golf saw some strong performances as they closed out their season, and both baseball and softball continued to battle.
Men’s golf
The men’s golf team traveled to The Golf Club at Chaparral Pines April 25 to play in the Western Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.
The Trailblazers finished Day 1 of the tournament in sixth place while shooting 14-over-par 302 as a team. Sophomore Ashton McArthur led the way for UT with a 2-over-par 74 and tied for 10th place.
UT moved up the leaderboard to fourth place on Day 2 as they combined to tie for the low round of the day with a 5-over 293. McArthur continued his success from Day 1, as he had three birdies and an eagle on the way to a 1-under 71. He moved up five spots into a tie for fifth place.
UT continued their success early on Day 3 as they moved up to second after shooting a combined 4-under-par through the first six holes. However, UT shot a combined 15-over-par on the back nine and finished in seventh place.
McArthur continued his success throughout the tournament as he shot 1-under-par and moved up to third place overall.
Baseball
Despite a late push in the ninth inning, Utah Tech fell on the road to Tarleton State University 3-2. An error in the fifth inning allowed the Texans to score three unanswered runs.
In the ninth inning, UT loaded the bases in a late rally attempt. Hunter Katschke and Finnegan Stewart both hit RBIs to close the gap, but the rally effort eventually fell short.
In Game 2 of the series, Tarleton State won 14-5. The Trailblazers fell behind early as they gave up six runs in the first and four more in the second. Sophomore Kyle McDaniel, a general studies major from Pahrump, Nevada, extended his hitting streak to 11 games in the loss.
“I think an important part of my game is just trying to put the ball in play and make the defense work and see what happens,” McDaniel said.
Tarleton State continued their success from the first two games of the series as they won 14-4 in the series finale. Eight combined runs in the first two innings proved to be too much for Utah Tech to overcome.
UT will return home to host the University of Las Vegas, Nevada, April 29.
Softball
UT traveled to Phoenix to play Grand Canyon University in a three-game series.
In Game 1, UT lost 5-3 despite outhitting GCU 9-5. Freshman Kinley Pappas went 3-3 at the plate with an RBI in the loss.
In Game 2, UT lost 13-2 as GCU outhit UT 13-5. Utah Tech took an early lead with two runs in the first inning, but Grand Canyon responded with four runs of their own before tallying six more runs in the third.
Game 3 was similar to the first two games as Utah Tech lost 6-4 in their final conference game of the season. Pappas again had multiple hits and an RBI for the Trailblazers.
The Trailblazers will close out their season with a doubleheader against Weber State University May 3.
