Game Times (Mountain):
Monday (DH) - 4 p.m.
Tuesday (DH) - 2 p.m.

Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | HAWAI'I HILO
Audio/Video: None
Live Stats: Dixie State Live Stats
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #RollStorm | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROJECTED STARTERS:
Monday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (3-0, 2.00 ERA) vs. TBA
Monday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-0, 3.79 ERA) vs. TBA
Tuesday (G3) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (3-0, 3.00) vs. TBA
Tuesday (G4) – RHP Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (1-2, 6.31 ERA) vs. TBA

FIRST PITCH: After an eight-day layoff, No. 24 Dixie State (20-6/8-4 PacWest) begins the second half of its 2016 regular season with an eight-game Pacific West Conference homestand, starting with a four-game series this Monday and Tuesday, March 28-29, against Hawai'i Hilo (4-17/3-15 PacWest) at Bruce Hurst Field. The series will be played in two doubleheaders, starting with a twinbill Monday at 4 p.m. (MDT), followed by a second double-dip Tuesday at 2 p.m. (MDT).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State won seven of eight games on its season-long eight-game road trip to the Bay Area this past March 14-19. DSU swept a four-game set at Academy of Art and took three-of-four at Holy Names to close out the trip.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State owns a 36-13 record against Hawai'i Hilo and has won eight-straight and 11 of its last 12 against the Vulcans. In games played at Bruce Hurst Field, DSU is 20-2 all-time against UHH.

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 120-59 (.670) overall record at DSU, including a 81-31 (.723) 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).

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Not only is Dixie State looking to win its third-straight PacWest crown in 2016, 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.

DSU IN THE POLLS: As a result of Dixie State going 7-1 on its Bay Area road trip, the Storm returned to the national and regional rankings this week. DSU is currently ranked 24th in both the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-30 and National College Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) top-25 polls.
    Dixie State also moved up one spot to #4 in the NCBWA West Region poll, while DSU is ranked #19 in the March 15 D2BaseballNews.com top-25 poll.

HOME SWEET HOME: DSU returns to the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field, where the Storm opened its 2016 home slate with an 11-3 record. DSU has played to a 192-83 (.698) mark since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, 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.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Dixie State has held its own on the road as well, having played to a 106-93 overall record (.532) through its first nine-plus years of D-II competition, including a 9-3 start this season, with five-straight winning seasons. Last year the Storm went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750) and has won at least 10 road games in six-straight seasons overall.
    When you figure in neutral-site games (3-6 in nine games), DSU is 109-99 (.524) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in NCAA play.

300 WINS AND COUNTING....: Dixie State won its 300th game as an NCAA Division II program in the second game of the Storm's doubleheader at Holy Names on March 18. The Storm is now 301-174 (.633) all-time in their near 10 years of four-year competition.
    DSU is also inching closer to several other program milestones this season. If Dixie State advances to its fifth-straight NCAA West Regional in May, the first game of that tourney will be DSU's 500th NCAA game. In addition, the Storm is slated to play in their 250th PacWest game at Point Loma in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday, April 8.
    In addition, Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer will coach in his 200th-game at Dixie State at Concordia on Friday, April 29, and will reach 300 games as a head coach when the Storm takes the field at Point Loma in the second game of a doubleheader on Friday, April 8.

MORACHE NAMED PACWEST AND NCBWA REGION POW: Dixie State senior shortshop Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) was named PacWest Baseball and NCBWA West Region Player of the Week last Monday for his efforts in helping lead the Storm to a 7-1 record on DSU's eight-game Bay Area road trip. The award marked the second time this season Morache has earned the PacWest's weekly award (Feb. 8).
    Morache (5-10; Vancouver, BC/Surrey HS/College of Southern Idaho) hit .441 (15-for-34) out of the lead-off spot with seven doubles, one home run, six RBI and nine runs scored. He also stole two bases and had just one error in 50 total chances.
    Morache hit safely in all eight games on the road trip, including six multi-hit outings, to extend his DSU career-best hitting streak to 15 games. He currently leads the PacWest in hits (46) and is second in the conference with a .426 batting average.

IT'S DEEP AND I DON'T THINK IT'S PLAYABLE: Dixie State has homered 16 times this season, including five home runs from five different sluggers, Cam Gust (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS), Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS), Sam Hall, Morache and Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS), on DSU's Bay Area road trip.
    In fact, all five of the homers are the first road round-trippers the Storm has connected on this season as all the previous 11 Storm home runs have been hit at Bruce Hurst Field, with a season-high three homers coming vs. Saint Martin's (2/21).
    Morache hit arguably one of the most memorable home runs in program history with a walk-off grand slam in the 10th-inning of DSU's 9-6 win vs. Saint Martin's.
    Morache's slam marked the first time since the 2010 season that DSU won a game on a walk-off homer and it was the first walk-off grand slam in DSU's D-II era. Former OF Brett Adams had the last Storm walk-off homer, which came in a 9-8 home win over PacWest rival California Baptist (3/31/10).
    Prior to Morache, the last Storm player to record a grand slam was Sam Hall, who hit one last season in a 10-6 home win vs. Academy of Art (3/28/15).

FROM POLE TO POLE: Junior CF/RF Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) started in the first six games of the Bay Area road trip, but sat out the final two games due to injury ... hit a combined .421 (8-for-19) in the six games with a double, home run, eight RBI, five runs scored and four stolen bases ... collected two hits in three of four games played at AAU ... he is second on the team in hitting at .400 with two HR, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored ... he also leads the team in sacrifices (11) and is 9-of-10 in the stolen base department.
    Junior CF Jerome Hill II (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS) played in all eight games with five starts, including all four games at HNU ... hit .150 overall with three RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base.
    Junior LF/DH Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS) started in three games in left field and two others at DH on the road trip ... hit a combined .210 with a double, two RBI, three runs scored and a stolen base.
    Junior OF Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) started and reached base safely in all eight games on the road trip ... hit .286 (8-for-28) with four runs scored ... has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games and owns a .333 batting average.
    Junior reserve OF Trey Reineke (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill HS) played in six games with two starts, both of which came in games two and four at AAU ... hit .222 with a double, RBI and four runs scored.

AROUND THE HORN: Freshman INF/DH Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) started the final two games of the AAU series and three of four at HNU ... batted .294 with a homer, six RBI and four runs scored ... collected two hits with an RBI in game three at AAU ... went 2-for-5 with a career-high four RBI, three of which came on his first collegiate HR in the fourth inning of the finale at HNU.   
    Sophomore Hayes Hall (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) started at 3B in two of four games at both AAU and HNU ... went 2-for-4 with a run scored in the opener at AAU ... hit .143 on the trip.
    Senior SS Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) started all eight games on the road trip and hit .441 (15-for-34) out of the lead-off spot with seven doubles, one home run, six RBI and nine runs scored ... hit safely in all eight games, including six multi-hit outings, to extend his DSU career-best hitting streak to 15 games ... has hit safely in 24 of 26 games this season with 15 multi-hit games and currently leads the PacWest in hits (46) and is second in the conference with a .426 batting average ... also leads the team with 13 doubles and 23 RBI.
    Junior 2B Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) started all eight games on the trip and batted .394 (13-for-33) with pair of two-hit games and two three-hit outings ... picked up his first triple of the year to go with six RBI, eight runs scored and three stolen bases ... after being held hitless in the G1 at AAU, hit safely in the last seven games ... currently batting .377 with 22 RBI, a team-high tying three home runs and is second on the club in runs scored (22) and stolen bases (8-for-8).
    Senior 1B Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS) started and had at least one base hit in all eight games in the Bay Area ... batted .370 (10-for-27) with five extra base hits, including four doubles ... hit his second HR of the year in G3 at AAU ... also drove in eight RBI and had six runs scored on the trip ... is fourth on the club in hitting (.337), third in RBI (19), second in doubles (10) and leads the team with 18 walks.
    Sophomore DH Cam Gust (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) played in six of eight games with four starts and reached base safely in all six appearances ... batted .333 (5-for-15) with a homer, two RBI and four runs scored ... clubbed his team-high tying third HR of the year as part of a two-hit game in the opener at AAU.

THE BACKSTOPS: Junior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) played in five games with three starts on the Bay Area road trip and batted .333 (4-for-12) with a double and a run scored.
    Sophomore Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) played in six games with five starts at AAU/HNU and hit .333 (5-for-15) ... picked up a hit and had at least one RBI (six total) in all five starts, including two RBI in the finale at AAU.
    Freshman Tanner Harper (Paul, Idaho/Minico HS) caught two innings in game three at AAU, where he drew a walked with a run scored in his only plate appearance ... started at DH in game three at HNU and went hitless in four ABs. 

ROTATION NOTES: Sophomore RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (3-0) won both of his starts on DSU's road trip ... he opened the trip by scattering seven hits and two earned runs (three total) with one strikeout to pick up the victory in DSU's 6-3 series-opening win at Academy of Art ... File followed that up with a seven-inning complete-game three-hit shutout with a career-high nine strikeouts in DSU's 3-0 win in game three at HNU ... he did not walk a batter and needed only 77 pitches and faced just two over the minimum to earn his third win of the season.
    Junior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-0) fired seven innings of four-hit shutout baseball with four strikeouts in game two at AAU to earn his fifth win of the season ... started the finale at HNU (coming off illness) and was touched up for five hits and five runs in 4.1 innings, but did not figure in the decision.
    Senior RHP Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (1-2) started game two at HNU and lasted seven innings, allowing five runs on seven hits ... all five HNU runs and six hits came in two innings, while the senior held the Hawks to only one hit in five shutout innings of work.
    Senior RHP Jeremy Alderman (Cheney, Wash./Cheney HS) (1-1) started the finale at AAU and threw 2.1 shutout innings with three strikeouts before being ejected after hitting an AAU batter, which forced him to miss the entire HNU series.  
    Junior RHP Sean Hardman (Pleasant Grove, Utah/American Fork HS) (2-0) made his first start of the season in the opener at HNU ... struck out five and held the Hawks to just one hit and one unearned run over his five innings of work to earn the victory.
    Freshman RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (3-0) made his first collegiate start in game three at AAU and tossed six shutout innings and scattered six hits with three strikeouts to pick up the win ... also worked 0.2 IP in relief in the finale at HNU.

CALL TO THE PEN: DSU's bullpen also had a stellar road trip as nine total relievers made at least one appearance over the eight-game span ... overall Storm relievers logged 23.1 IP and posted a 2.31 ERA, allowing just six earned runs (10 total) with seven strikeouts ... The bullpen also picked up two of DSU's seven wins on the trip and two saves ... senior southpaw Kolton Brost (Mona, Utah/Payson HS) made a team-high five appearances, pitching 4.0 total scoreless innings, and earned a win (G4 at HNU) and a save (G4 at AAU) with pair of strikeouts ... senior RHP Spencer Greer (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville HS) (G1 at AAU) also picked up a save in four appearances, while juniors Walker Williams (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) (LHP) and Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) (RHP) also appeared in four games ... junior RHP Jose Rosales-Rodarte (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) earned his first win in a DSU uniform in the finale at AAU.

TEAM NOTES: Entering play this weekend, Dixie State leads the nation in sacrifice bunts with 40 through 26 games ... DSU hit .315 on its eight-game Bay Area trip (84-of-267) and continues to lead the PacWest and is ranked #35-nationally in team batting average at .325 ... 22 of DSU's 84 hits went for extra bases with 16 doubles ... DSU has reached double figures in hits in 17 of 26 games this season, including nine of 14 games at Bruce Hurst Field, and eight of 12 road games ... DSU has posted four 15-hit games overall and collected a season-high 17 safeties in game three vs. Cal State San Bernardino (2/6/16) ... Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 2.42 ERA and enters this week third in the PacWest in opponent's BA (.246) and fifth (#24-nationally) in team ERA (3.45) ... DSU is 45-for-53 (.849) in stolen bases through 26 games, including a 15-for-19 effort on the Bay Area road trip ... DSU outscored AAU/HNU by a combined 29 runs, 53-24, in the eight total games.   

UP NEXT: Dixie State wraps up its eight-game PacWest homestand with a four-game set vs. Fresno Pacific later this week on March 31-through-April 2.