Manning homers, Storm rallies in ninth for win over CSULA

DSC wins 30th game of season

Joe Andrade had three hits in DSC win

Box Score Tweet #DSCbase

ST. GEORGE – Mitch Manning (Kaysville, UT/Davis) launched a three-run home run and the Storm rallied for two runs in the ninth inning without hitting the ball out of the infield to defeat Cal State Los Angeles by the score of 8-7 in the opener of a four-game series at Bruce Hurst Field.

Dixie State, entering this weekend's regular season finale ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Wes Region poll, kept postseason hopes alive improving to 30-17 on the year. The 5^th-ranked Golden Eagles slipped to 25-20.

CSULA took a 1-0 lead in the second, only to see Dixie State answer in the bottom half of the inning. Joe Andrade (Yuma, AZ/San Luis ) led off the frame with a single. Manning and Ammon Zitting (Pleasant Grove. UT/Lone Peak) drew walks to load the bases. With two outs, Garrett Nash (Draper, UT/Jordan) beat out a slow roller to short for the RBI single.

The Golden Eagles scored three times in the third and added a run in the fourth for a 5-1 lead. DSC struggled in its early opportunities to score, stranding nine runners in the first four innings and 16 overall.

A five-run fifth inning gave the Red Storm its first lead. Manning's blast came early after Tyson Littlewood (St. George. UT/Pine View HS) led off with an opposite field single and Andrade drew a walk. Zitting and Yuto Kata (Chiba, Japan/Juan Diego (Utah)) singled and each advanced an extra base on a balk. Jordan Hanley (Las Vegas. NV/Bonanza) hit a deep sacrifice fly to plate Zitting with the tying run. Later with the bases loaded, Cedric Johnson (Thatcher, AZ/Thatcher) notched an RBI with a roller to first.

The equalizer came for CSULA in the seventh. James Wharton began the frame with one of his three doubles. He later scored on a sacrifice fly. Wharton pushed across a run with another double in the eighth for a 7-6 CSULA lead in the eighth.

In the home half of the ninth, Dixie State went to work against David Arredondo, who had retired all six batters he had seen in the previous two innings. Pinch hitter Eric Bond (Scottsdale, AZ/Horizon) drew a walk and was pinch run for by Quinn Boyer (Ogden, UT/Bonneville HS). The Storm turned to small ball – Kata singled on a bunt to first and Hanley beat out a bunt single to third. CSULA brought in Sergio Luna out of the pen and a spell of wildness led to plunking Nash with an inside fastball to bring in Boyer with the tying run. On an 0-1 count, Colton Yack (South Jordan, UT/Bingham) grounded a ball toward second, but the throw home for the force pulled the catcher off the plate, allowing Kata to score the game winner.

Kyle DiMartino (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) gets the win in relief (1-2) allowing two hits and striking out a pair in 1.2 innings. Andrade led the offensive charge for DSC with three hits while Hanley, Nash and Kata each added two hits each.

Games two and three of the series are Saturday in a doubleheader scheduled for a 4 p.m. first pitch. Prior to the first game, the Red Storm will honor its senior class with a special jersey recognition ceremony.

Follow in-game live stats at DixieAthletics.com and updates on Twitter - @DixieAthletics.

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