ST. GEORGE — The Utah Tech baseball team will travel to Grand Canyon this weekend seeking some much-needed wins.
The Trailblazers dropped an 8-2 decision against in-state rival Brigham Young University on April 16. It was Utah Tech’s eighth loss in its last 10 games.
Overall the Trailblazers are 9-27 on the season including a 7-11 record in the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC-leading Lopes, meanwhile, are 11-4 in conference play and 20-17 overall.
According to a Utah Tech Athletics press release, the Trailblazers have lost their last 11 consecutive contests against Grand Canyon.
Utah Tech is in the fourth and final season of its transition to NCAA Division I status. During that period, the Trailblazers are 68-130 overall and 50-64 in WAC games.
The Trailblazers will play in their 200th Division I game at Grand Canyon on Saturday night.
Women’s basketball inks players
Utah Tech’s women’s basketball team signed a player from the Serbian national team system.
Andjela Colic will play in St. George next year. The 5-foot-7 point guard from Belgrade, Serbia, is currently a member of the Karaburma Beograd club team. She averages 12.6 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game.
“Andjela is a point guard with a high basketball IQ and feel for the game,” head coach J.D. Gustin said in a Utah Tech Athletics press release.
“She has a unique ability to set her teammates up for great shots and makes the right reads,” Gustin added. “She can score it inside and hit the three, and it will be fun to see her develop in our offensive system.”
Joining Colic next year for Utah Tech will be junior college transfer Aaliyah Ibarra, who will come to St. George from the College of Southern Nevada.
Ibarra is a 5-foot-8 shooting guard and was the second-leading scorer in the Scenic West Athletic Conference last year, averaging 16.9 points per game. She led the SWAC in made 3-pointers and finished eighth in free throw shooting at 72.5 percent.
“We’ve been following Aaliyah since early in her high school days and it’s been fun to watch her development into the player she is today,” Gustin said in the release.
“She has deep range and a confidence to keep shooting it. Her assist-to-turnover ratio this past season also caught our eye,” he added. “She earned this scholarship and we are proud of her for it.”
Ibarra prepped at Las Vegas powerhouse Centennial High School, where she was part of three straight Nevada state championship-winning teams.
Ibarra and Colic are the fourth signees for Utah Tech this offseason, following Utah prep player Ellie Taylor (Copper Hills High School) and Paige Cofer from Eagle High School in Idaho.
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