ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech salvaged the final game of its three-game Western Athletic Conference road series at Grand Canyon with a 6-5 victory on Saturday afternoon at the GCU Softball Stadium.
The Trailblazers (25-15 overall, 10-5 WAC), who dropped a doubleheader Friday 13-11 and 10-2, maintained their hold on first place with nine conference games remaining, according to a UT press release.
Utah Tech returns home to Karl Brooks Field this weekend for a pivotal three-game WAC series vs. California Baptist. Friday will feature a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m., and Saturday will be a single game at noon.
Utah Tech 6, Grand Canyon 5
After both teams struck for single runs in the first inning, Utah Tech took the lead for good in the second thanks to a Hannah Hughbanks run-scoring flyout and a two-out Shea Clements RBI single.
Hughbanks collected her second RBI of the day two innings later with a double in the fourth to stretch the Utah Tech lead to 4-1. However, the Lopes (33-9, 9-6) countered with two runs of their own in their half of the frame to trim the deficit to 4-3.
The Trailblazers answered with single runs of their own in both the fifth and sixth stanzas. Those insurance runs turned out to be the difference as GCU rallied for two runs in the seventh and brought the potential game-winning run to the plate with two outs.
However, UT hurler Attlyn Johnson would get Madison Schaefer to pop up to Oaklee Trapp at second base to end the game. Johnson earned her first save of the season.
Hughbanks went 3-for-3 with a run scored to go with her two RBI, while Brooklyn Dowdle racked up two hits as the Trailblazers rapped out 10 safeties on the day. Tyler Denhart (W, 1-0) scattered two runs and four hits over three innings of relief with a pair of strikeouts to earn her first win of the season.
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Grand Canyon 13, Utah Tech 11, 11 innings
Trailing 10-6 late in Game 1, Utah Tech plated a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh to tie the game at 10-10 to force extra innings.
The Blazers would take their first lead since the opening frame in the eighth when Tanya Windle singled in Oaklee Trapp with two outs.
However, GCU would answer with a Ramsay Lopez solo home run in the home eighth and would use the long ball to score the winning runs in the 11th when Katelyn Dunckel connected for a two-out, two-run homer to end the game.
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Grand Canyon 10, Utah Tech 2, 5 innings
In the nightcap, the Trailblazers erased a 2-0 first-inning deficit with a two-run Hughbanks second-inning double to tie the game at 2-2.
The game did not stay tied long as the Lopes scored eight unanswered runs over their next three offensive frames, culminating with a three-run Annie Villalobos three-run home run in the fifth that ended the game.
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