Utah Tech lost its first game of the 2026 baseball season, falling to Pacific 4-3 in a closely contested match on Thursday night at Klein Family Field. The loss came in the opening game of a three-game weekend series.
The Trailblazers, who entered the game with a 5-0 record, gave up two early runs as Pacific’s first five batters reached base against Utah Tech’s starting pitcher Tyler Ray. Despite this rough start, Ray and his team managed to escape further trouble by getting out of a bases-loaded situation.
Ray found his rhythm over the next few innings, retiring seven of the following ten batters he faced. The Utah Tech defense supported him with double plays in both the second and fourth innings.
On offense, Utah Tech had several runners on base during their first four innings but could not score until the fifth inning. Kyle McDaniel hit a double and later scored after evading a tag at home plate, cutting Pacific’s lead to 2-1.
Pacific responded by scoring again in their half of the fifth inning. In the seventh inning, Hudson Manwaring drove in another run for Utah Tech with an RBI single to narrow the gap to one run again.
In the eighth inning, Pacific added what turned out to be a crucial insurance run when Rylan Evans hit a two-out home run. In their final chance during the ninth inning, Utah Tech managed another RBI single from Manwaring but left runners stranded as Ryan Kroepel’s flyout ended the game.
Despite outhitting Pacific 10-9, Utah Tech could not overcome their early deficit. Manwaring led his team with three hits and two RBIs. Kace Naone contributed two hits and scored twice after entering as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.
Kyle McDaniel also had two hits and extended his school-record on-base streak to 47 consecutive games while stretching his hitting streak to 20 games—the second-longest in Utah Tech’s recent history. He is now one game away from tying Jake Engel’s school record for consecutive games with a hit.
Tyler Ray took his first loss of the season after allowing three runs over nearly five innings and striking out four batters. Senior reliever Aaron Morris pitched well in relief, giving up one run over almost four innings with three strikeouts.
The teams will continue their series Friday night at 7 p.m. Mountain Time.
