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Utah Tech University Athletics

Yuto Kata vs. MSUB
Julie Buchanan Photography

Baseball John Potter, Media Relations Assistant

Saturday split with MSUB

DSU takes first game, late HR propels visitors to nightcap win

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

 
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Two steps forward, one step back.
 
Dixie State baseball split a doubleheader with Montana State-Billings on Saturday, taking the opener 5-2 before a late-inning homer run pushed the Yellowjackets to a 5-4 nightcap win.
 
The split moved the Red Storm to 2-8 on the season. MSUB notched its first win after opening with six straight losses.
 
In game one, John Conquy (Las Vegas, NV) struggled out of the gate to allow four runs, one earned, and eight hits over 1.2 innings. Sophomore reliever Rustin Sveum (Scottsdale, AZ) righted the ship with 4.1 innings of one-hit baseball.
 
Dixie State scored twice in the opening frame. Austin Bartleson (Kennewick, WA) singled and later scored from third on a balk. Tyler Blair (Henderson, NV) plated a run with an RBI single.
 
Down 4-2 entering the sixth, the Storm tied the game with two runs in the sixth inning and took the lead with two more runs in the next frame. Bartleson tallied the equalizer with a two-run single to right with two-outs. Dalton Gust (Riverton, UT) provided the go-ahead run with a sacrifice bunt, scoring pinch runner Andrew Smith (Las Vegas, NV). Yuto Kata (Chiba, Japan) later drew a bases loaded walk to add an insurance run.
 
Three pitchers after Sveum's appearance combined to shut down the Jackets. Kevin Dorantes (Las Vegas, NV) earned the win (1-0) after completing the seventh inning. Matt Hill (Cypress, CA) scattered a ingle hit in the eighth. Evan Parker (Ogden, UT) retired the side, including one strikeout to earn his second save.
 
The seven-inning nightcap saw DSU hold a 4-3 lead after four innings. Kevin Kline (Las Vegas, NV) had a two-run single in the third while Bartleson and Mike Umscheid (Beaverton, OR) added RBi singles in the fourth inning.
 
Staked to the lead, Mark Marinch (Las Vegas, NV) surrendered the tying run on a pair of doubles. In the top of the seventh, Taylor Stone (Sierra Vista, AZ) offered a one-out solo home run to Brad Birch, which proved to be the game-winner.
 
DSU had a chance in the home seventh. Stone and Gust both singled. Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, AZ) entered to pinch run and advance to third with two outs. Cody Clark (Las Vegas, NV) saw just three pitches before a called third strike ended the game.
 
The series finale is Sunday at 11 a.m. from Bruce Hurst Field.
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