ST. GEORGE, Utah (Interstat) — Utah Tech defeated Abilene Christian 19-8 on Saturday afternoon at Burns Arena, completing a three-game Western Athletic series sweep with a lopsided victory that featured a decisive nine-run fourth inning.

The Trailblazers improved to 31-21 overall, while the Wildcats fell to 24-28.

Utah Tech trailed 8-5 after the top of the second inning and 8-8 after the bottom of the second before Abilene Christian regained an 8-8 tie in the top of the fourth. But the Trailblazers erupted for nine runs in the bottom of the fourth, turning a tight contest into a runaway.

Miller Durham powered Utah Tech’s offense, going 3-for-4 with two home runs and five RBIs. His first homer, a three-run shot down the right-field line in the second inning, tied the game. His second, a two-run blast to left field in the fourth, put Utah Tech ahead 10-8 and ignited the big inning.

The Trailblazers sent 14 batters to the plate in the fourth, capitalizing on a hit batter, two walks, an error and a series of hits. K. McDaniel delivered a two-run double, R. Kroepel added a two-run single, and F. Stewart contributed a sacrifice fly. Seven runs were charged to Abilene Christian pitching before Caden Greanead ended the inning with a strikeout.

Abilene Christian had jumped ahead early. Diego Cardenas homered with two on in the second inning, and Brady Ladusau tripled in two runs in the fourth to give the Wildcats an 8-8 tie. Ladusau finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs. JT Thompson went 3-for-4 with a double and scored three runs. The Wildcats totaled 13 hits.

Utah Tech had 12 hits. Kace Naone, who entered as a pinch hitter and later served as designated hitter, homered in the eighth inning for two RBIs. Easton Brooks pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief, allowing three hits and striking out one to earn the win.

Abilene Christian’s pitching struggled throughout. Starter Whiteaker exited early; relievers Coe, Jeon, Greanead, Wallace and Gonzalez each faced difficulty. Greanead struck out two in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Wallace fanned two in one inning. But the damage in the fourth proved insurmountable.

Utah Tech scored in five different innings, including five runs in the first, three in the second and nine in the fourth. Abilene Christian scored three in the first, two in the second and three in the fourth but managed only a single in the final four frames.

The game was the third in a three-day series. Utah Tech had won the previous two, 7-4 on Friday and 22-12 on Thursday. The series sweep continued the Trailblazers’ recent success against the Wildcats, who had entered the weekend after winning three of four against Utah Valley.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Abilene Christian 6, Utah Tech 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Abilene Christian with a 56.90 percent probability to win.