HILO, Hawaii – Two different types of baseball games fortunately led to the same result for Dixie State during doubleheader action Tuesday at host Hawai'i Hilo. The bats exploded for a season-high 19 hits in a 16-3 series-opening blowout while Yuto Kata (Chiba, Japan/Juan Diego (Utah)) delivered a late RBI double to give the Red Storm a 2-1 win in the nightcap.
 
Dixie State has won seven consecutive games to even its season record at 7-7 while improving to 2-0 in Pacific West Conference play.
 
GAME ONE
Offense came in spurts for Dixie State in support of starting pitcher Porter Clayton (Idaho Falls, ID/Bonneville). In his return to the starting lineup, Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, HI/Kapolei) lined an RBI double and later scored via a Kevin Kline (Las Vegas, NV/Rancho) sacrifice fly for an early 2-0 lead.
 
UH-Hilo (5-10, 3-7 PacWest) responded with two runs in the first inning and one more in the second to secure a 3-2 lead. Their lead would hold until the fourth inning.
 
Dixie State closed the final six inning scoring 14 unanswered runs. Five runs came in the Storm fourth frame. Kline led off the inning with third home run of the year. Later, with the bases loaded, Tanner Morache (Surrey, Canada/Surrey) doubled home a pair of runs and Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, AZ/Desert Mountain) followed with a two-run single.
 
Morache highlighted a six-run rally for the Storm in the seventh with two more RBIs.
 
Clayton returned to form after allowing three early runs to post his second consecutive quality start. The southpaw evened his season record to 2-2 scattering eight hits while striking out four. Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, UT/West) faced the minimum in two dominant relief innings and Julian Burrola (Las Vegas, NV/Coronado) struck out the side in the Hilo ninth inning.
 
Morache led DSU with four hits, Kamachi and Kline each had three hits, while Cam Gust (Riverton, UT/Riverton), McLaughlin and Zach Watts (West Jordan, UT/Copper Hills) posted two hits each.
 
GAME TWO
Friday's nightcap was an old-fashioned pitchers duel between DSU's Tanner Howell (Boulder City, NV/Boulder City) and Hilo's Jordan Kurokawa.
 
Dixie State manufactured an early run. Morache singled, advanced to second on a McLaughlin sacrifice and scored on Kline's two-out RBI single.
 
Howell held the Vulcans without a hit until the fourth when a leadoff single put aboard a base runner. UHH tied the game when the runner stole third and scored on an errant throw.
 
The 1-1 stalemate held into the ninth inning despite both teams having chances in the late innings.
 
Howell threw well in a no-decision effort. He threw seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing just one unearned run and striking out five. Howell ended his night by holding the Vulcans off the board despite having a potential game-winning run at third base with one out.
 
John Conquy (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) threw one inning of relief and struck out two batters.
 
Dixie State broke through with a two-out rally sparked by an error, allowing Jacob Davison (Taylorsville, UT/Taylorsville) to reach, and a base hit from Gust. Senior infielder Yuto Kata (Chiba, Japan/Juan Diego (Utah)) pushed across the go-ahead run with a double into left-center.
 
Evan Parker (Ogden, UT/Bonneville) nailed down the DSU victory striking out a pinch hitter with a runner on first. His third season save secured Conquy's first win of the season.
 
The teams close out their PacWest series with a doubleheader on Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. Hawaiian time (8 p.m. Mountain).