Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - vs. Northwest Nazarene, 3:30 p.m./vs. MSU Billings, 7 p.m.
Saturday - vs. Northwest Nazarene, 12 noon
Sunday - vs. MSU Billings, 2:30 p.m.
COMPLETE WEEKEND GAME SCHEDULE

Audio/Video: None
Live Stats: Dixie State Live Stats
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieBase
 
PROJECTED STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. NNU RHP Ross Clevenger (0-0, 4.50 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (1-0, 3.60 ERA) vs. MSUB RHP Matt Hape (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – LHP Aaron Pope (Chubbuck, Idaho/Highland HS) (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. NNU RHP Jaramy Jacobs (0-1, 3.00 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – RHP Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. MSUB LHP Tanner Watson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

OUT OF THE BOX: Dixie State (4-0/0-0 PacWest) continues its 10-game homestand this weekend as the Storm plays a pair of games against Northwest Nazarene on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 (3:30 p.m.) and 13 (12 noon), and two games vs. Montana State Billings on Friday Feb. 12 (7 p.m.) and Sunday Feb. 14 (2:30 p.m.). Bruce Hurst Field, along with nearby Dixie High School, will also be the site of several other round-robin games featuring MSUB, NNU and PacWest member Holy Names. Please visit dixieathletics.com for a complete schedule of game sites and times.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State swept its four-game, season-opening home series vs. Cal State San Bernardino last weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The Storm outscored the Coyotes 37-9 over the four games as DSU's offense hit .388 in the series, while Dixie's pitching staff posted a 1.32 ERA 34 innings of work.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State is 3-1 all-time against Northwest Nazarene, though the two teams have not met since the 2007 season when DSU took three-of-four from the Crusaders, including two-of-three in St. George along with a victory in a game played in Grand Junction, Colo. DSU is also 16-3 in its overall series with MSUB, including a three-game sweep last season in St. George. 

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his fourth season as head coach of the Dixie State Baseball program. Pfatenhauer has led the Storm to consecutive PacWest titles (2014/2015) and three-straight trips (four-straight overall) to the NCAA West Regionals, including serving as the host institution in 2013. Pfatenhauer, who won his 100th-game at DSU last season in a 2-1 victory over Cal Poly Pomona at the NCAA regionals, owns a 104-53 (.662) overall record at DSU, including a 73-27 (.730) record in PacWest play.

Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Storm dugout this season is first-year pitching coach Michael Gargano (Walden University, 2013), along with second-year assistant coaches Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015), and Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014), and first-year assistant coach Patrick Perry (Northern Colorado, 2013).

STORM PICKED AS PACWEST CO-FAVORITES: Dixie State was chosen as a preseason co-favorite to once again win the 2016 Pacific West Conference title according to annual preseason coaches' poll released Jan. 27. The two-time defending PacWest champions received two first place votes to finish with 88 points in the poll. DSU is tied atop the poll with California Baptist, which collected 88 points and six first place nods, followed by Azusa Pacific in third with two first place votes and 78 points. Point Loma (66 points) was tabbed to finish fourth and Fresno Pacific (63 points) was selected fifth to round out the top-half of the poll.

Dixie State also landed two players on the PacWest Preseason all-Conference team in senior shortstop Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) and junior second baseman Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS).

DSU IN THE POLLS: The preseason prognostications are out and DSU has garnered plenty of regional and national preseason attention. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its 2016 NCAA Division II West Region preseason poll Jan. 25, and ranked the Storm third-overall with 41 points, just ahead of PacWest rival California Baptist, which was selected fourth with 40 points. Fellow PacWest members Azusa Pacific (5th – 30 pts), Fresno Pacific (6th – 23 pts) and Point Loma (8th – 21 pts) were also listed on the top-10 regional list.

Cal Poly Pomona received all six first-place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 60 points, followed by UC San Diego in second with 47 points. DSU also received votes in the 2016 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and 2016 NCBWA national preseason polls. Junior 2B Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) (5-11, 170; Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain) was the only Storm player listed as an NCBWA All-West Region preseason selection, picking up first team honors.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Not only is Dixie State entering the 2016 season looking to win its third-straight PacWest crown, the Storm is also hoping to keep its NCAA postseason streak alive as well. DSU has made four-straight NCAA regional appearances, which is currently the longest active streak in the West Region.

MORACHE NAMED PACWEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior shortshop Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) was named PacWest Baseball Player of the Week Monday for his overall performance in leading the Storm to a four-game sweep of Cal State San Bernardino this past weekend.

Morache (5-10; Vancouver, BC/Surrey HS/College of Southern Idaho) hit .500 (8-for-16) with one triple, six RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases in the four-game set. He collected at least one base hit in all four games, including a pair of three-hit outings, and did not commit an error in 25 total chances. The reigning PacWest Newcomer of the Year and preseason all-conference selection drove in a season-high three runs in game #2 Saturday afternoon, and followed that up with a 3-for-3 effort with three runs scored and two SBs in the finale Sunday. All that came after his heroics in DSU's season-opening 5-3 win last Friday, where he helped rally DSU from a 3-1 deficit with a game-tying two-RBI triple as part of a five-run seventh inning.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START: For just the second time in the program's NCAA Division II era, Dixie State started a season 4-0 after the Storm swept CSUSB last weekend. Prior to that, the last time DSU swept a series to open a year 4-0 was in 2012, when the Storm swept Academy of Art en route to a 5-0 start to that season.

The 4-0 start this season bucked a trend that saw DSU drop the first seven games of each of the past two seasons. However those seasons turned out just fine as the Storm won the PacWest championship and advanced on to the NCAA West Regionals in each of those years. Dixie State's best overall start in nine-plus NCAA seasons is 12-1 set in 2013, while the Storm opened the 2012 campaign 8-1.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, Dixie State has played to a 185-80 (.698) record inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field with seven-straight winning seasons at home overall. The Storm has posted five 20-plus win seasons over that span, including a program-best 26 wins (26-7) in 2009, and a 22-5 (.814) record under Coach Pfatenhauer in 2014.

TEAM NOTES: DSU's pitching staff only gave up five earned runs (nine total) in the four games last weekend in posting a 1.32 ERA ... DSU starters combined for 21 innings of work and surrendered just 14 hits and eight total runs (five earned) with 19 total strikeouts ... G1 starter sophomore RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) scattered three unearned runs and two hits with eight Ks in five innings, but did not figure into the decision ... G2 starter junior LHP Aaron Pope (Chubbuck, Idaho/Highland HS) worked a staff-best six innings, allowing two runs on five hits to pick up his first win of the year ... G3 hurler junior Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) enjoyed his DSU debut as he held he Coyotes to three runs and two hits in five innings with three strikeouts ... G4 starter senior Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) was dominant in his return to the mound in the finale as he fanned six of the first 11 batters he faced, allowing only one run and four hits in his five innings of work to pick up the win.

The Storm bullpen was even more dominant as seven relievers combined to hold the Coyotes to just six hits and one unearned run in 13.0 innings of relief ... freshman RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) earned his first collegiate victory with two innings of one-hit relief in the opener ... senior closer RHP Jeremy Alderman (Cheney, Wash./Cheney HS) picked up his first save of the year to close out game one ... junior RHP Sean Hardman (Pleasant Grove, Utah/American Fork HS) pitched three innings of three-hit relief to earn his first save of the year in game two.

Offensively DSU hit .388 as a team and averaged 12.5 hits and just over nine runs over the four games ... in addition to Morache's performance, fellow middle infielder junior 2B Drew McLauglin hit .467 (7-for-15) with a double and five RBI ... McLauglin had at least one base knock in each game, including a two-hit effort in game three, and three more hits in the finale ... senior 1B Sam Hall also had a great series, hitting .471 (8-for-17) with one double, a homer and five RBI ... S. Hall went 5-of-8 combined in the Saturday twinbill, including four-hit day with the HR and two RBI in first game (game two) ... junior RF Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) co-led the team (with Morache) with six RBI in the CSUSB series and hit .500 overall (7-for-14), including a big three-run homer in game three ... junior OF/DH Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS) led the team with a .545 average (6-for-11) in three starts vs. CSUSB, including a two-hit effort in the debut in game two, followed by a 3-for-3 day with a team-high four runs scored in game three ... junior reserve OF Trey Reineke (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill HS) earned his first start of the year in series finale (1-for-3; single) after coming off the bench to collect two hits and three RBI in game three ... DSU went 7-for-8 in the stolen base department vs. the Coyotes, with Morache and junior CF Jerome Hill II (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS) swiping two bags apiece.

UP NEXT: Dixie State concludes its homestand next weekend with a pair of games. DSU will host Minot State on Friday, Feb. 19, at 4 p.m., followed by a match-up against Saint Martin's on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 12 noon. MSU and SMU will also play a three-game series at Bruce Hurst field, with a single game Friday at 12 noon, and a doubleheader Saturday also beginning at 12 noon.