Game Times (Mountain):
Thursday - 6 p.m.
Friday (DH) - 4 p.m.
Saturday - 12 noon

Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | AZUSA PACIFIC
Audio/Video: None
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/baseball
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
(UPDATED) PROBABLE STARTERS:
Thursday (G1) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (3-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Huthsing (6-1, 2.44 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (4-0, 2.87 ERA) vs. LHP Jonny Reid (5-2, 1.72 ERA)
Friday (G3) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (8-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Dillon Miyashiro (5-0, 3.05 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – TBA vs. RHP Michael Fairchild (2-2, 3.96 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 13/17 Dixie State (30-8/18-6 PacWest) returns home for an eight-game homestand to wrap up the home portion of its 2016 regular season, beginning with a four-game PacWest series vs. Azusa Pacific (18-16/13-7 PacWest) this weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers and Cougars will play a single game on Thursday, April 14 at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Friday, April 15 beginning at 4 p.m., and the series finale on Saturday, April 16 at 12 noon.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State trails in its seven-year series vs. Azusa Pacific, 10-12, though the Trailblazers have won seven of the last 12 meetings overall. DSU and APU have split the last eight games played over the past two seasons, including a 2-2 series split the last time these two teams met in St. George in 2014.

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 DSU 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 130-61 (.680) overall record at DSU, including a 91-33 (.734) record in PacWest play. Pfatenhauer is 7-5 all-time vs. Azusa Pacific as DSU head coach.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer 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).

DIXIE STATE 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 Trailblazers are 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: The Point Loma split did not really affect Dixie State's national rankings this week as the Trailblazers stayed at No. 13 in this week's National College Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) poll, while they fell two spots to 17th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-30 poll.
    Dixie State also remains #2 in the latest NCBWA West Region poll, while DSU is still listed as #14 in the April 5 D2BaseballNews.com top-25 poll (new poll not released by press time).

HOME SWEET HOME: Thanks to the 8-0 perfect homestand two weeks ago, Dixie State clinched a winning home record for the 2016 season, which is the 10th-straight winning season at home overall. DSU improved to 19-3 inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field this year and is now 198-74 (.728) at home since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07. The Trailblazers have 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's series split at Point Loma clinched a winning road record for the Trailblazers this season. DSU is currently 11-5 on the road in 2016 with four more regular season road games left, which will come at PacWest newcomer Concordia-Irvine April 29-May 1.
    DSU has played to a 108-95 overall record (.532) through its first nine-plus years of D-II competition with six-straight winning road records. Last year DSU went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750) and has now won at least 10 road games in seven-straight seasons overall.
    When you also figure in neutral-site games (5-7 in 12 games), Dixie State is 113-102 (.525) 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 Trailblazers' doubleheader at Holy Names on March 18. DSU is now 311-176 (.638) 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 Trailblazers played in their 200th road game in the opener at Point Loma last Friday, which was followed by the program's 250th PacWest game in Friday's second game of the doubleheader. That game also marked Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer's 300th game as a head coach. Coach Pfatenhauer will also will coach in his 200th-game at Dixie State at Concordia on Friday, April 29.

McLAUGHLIN EARNS SECOND PACWEST WEEKLY HONOR: Junior second baseman Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) was named PacWest Baseball Player of the Week for his efforts in helping lead DSU to a split of a four-game set at Point Loma last weekend in San Diego. The award marks the second time this season McLaughlin has earned the league's weekly award (Feb. 16).
    McLaughlin hit .625 (10-for-16) on the weekend with a double and four runs scored. He had at least two base hits in three of the four games and went a combined 7-for-8 with a double in the first doubleheader on Friday. McLaughlin has hit safely in five-straight and in 18 of his last 19 games overall, and is currently second in the PacWest in hits (63) and third in batting average (.399).
    McLaughlin enters play this week third all-time in DSU's NCAA Division II era in base hits with 189 in two-plus seasons and needs just four more hits to become the program's all-time hits leader (Colton Yack, 192; 2010-13).

D-MAC IN REACH OF MORE CAREER MILESTONES: In addition to the career hits record, McLaughlin is listed in the top-10 in several other DSU career categories.The junior is currently ranked second in career runs (126), fourth in average (.342) and at-bats (553), t-fourth in total bases (236), fifth in stolen bases (20), eighth in starts (137) and ninth in games played (139).
    On the single-season list, McLaughlin's .399 batting average is fifth-overall, while he is t-sixth in stolen bases (10), and is three hits away (63) from tying his career season-high and entering the top-10 in that category.

IT'S DEEP AND I DON'T THINK IT'S PLAYABLE: Dixie State has homered 29 times this season, including five home runs last weekend at Point Loma. Three of the five home runs were solo shots hit in game two, including a lead-off homer on the second pitch of the game by senior SS Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS). Morache became the first Storm player in three years to lead off a game with a home run, the last being former DSU outfielder Garrett Nash, who accomplished the feat on the road at APU (3/29/13). The three homers also tied a team game-high.
    Sophomore DH Cam Gust (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) then led off the second inning of that game with an HR, and junior 3B Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) connected for a lead-off shot in the fifth. Then in game three junior RF Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) belted a three-run HR in the ninth inning to salt away that victory, and senior 1B Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS) hit a two-run shot in the first inning of the finale.
    In all, 19 of DSU's 29 homers on the season have been hit at Bruce Hurst Field, including a season-high tying three coming in the opener vs. UHH March 28. DSU also hit three homers vs. Saint Martin's (2/21), which included arguably one of the most memorable home runs in program history, which was also hit by Morache, who connected for a walk-off grand slam in the 10th-inning of DSU's 9-6 win over the Saints.
    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 DSU walk-off homer, which came in a 9-8 home win over PacWest rival California Baptist (3/31/10).

MORE ON MORACHE: Like his double-play partner, Morache is on the cusp of several season and career records in his own right. Entering play this weekend he is two doubles shy of breaking DSU's single-season record, which is currently held by former DSU 1B Kevin Kline (Las Vegas, NV/Rancho) (20 in 2014). Morache's 19 doubles on the year also ranks him fifth in the country, while his .420 batting average this season ranks him second in the PacWest is currently the second-best in school history. Morache is also t-seventh on the season hit list with 66 and needs just nine more safeties to become DSU's single-season leader.
    On the career list, Morache is second all-time in average (.390), fifth in slugging percentage (.534) and on-base percentage (.438), t-sixth in doubles (28) and triples (4), and 10th in base hits (139).

HILTY UNBEATEN ON THE HILL: Junior righthander Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) became the first pitcher to win his first eight decisions in the program's NCAA D-II era in DSU's 4-0 win in the finale at PLNU. Hilty, whose eight wins is good for t-third in NCAA D-II, pitched six scoreless innings and scattered five hits with two strikeouts in picking up his milestone victory.
    With his eighth win of the year, Hilty also moved into a tie atop DSU's single-season wins list with current DSU pitcher Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (2014) and former hurlers John Conquy (Las Vegas, NV/Durango) (2014), Austin Christiansen (2013) and Justin Prodan (2010). Hilty also tied Abrath and Conquy's school-record in winning his eighth-straight decision. Abrath and Conquy each won eight-straight decisions in 2014 after the pair opened that season 0-1.

TEAM NOTES: Through 38 games this season, Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer has used 36 different starting line-up/batting order combinations ... In addition, DSU has employed 28 different starting defensive line-ups through 38 games ... Dixie State has won 12 of its last 14 games to reach the 30-win plateau for the eighth-straight season ... DSU recorded its 30th win in game No. 38, which is the fastest the program has won 30 games in DSU's NCAA Division II era ... DSU's series split at PLNU snapped a streak of four-straight series wins, which included three four-game sweeps ... DSU has seven series victories on the season overal, including four four-game sweeps ... DSU's shutout win in the finale at PLNU was the Trailblazers' fourth of the season and third in the last 14 games overall ... After not allowing a home run in just over a month (16 games), DSU gave up four total home runs in the first two games of the PLNU series ... Prior to that the last home run hit against DSU came at home vs. California Baptist on March 5, a total span of 137.2 innings ... History repeated itself as DSU saw its most recent 10-game winning streak get stopped in that first twin bill at PLNU last Friday, though DSU did come back to salvage the series split ... DSU's first 10-game winning streak of the year (10-0 to start the season) was snapped after the Storm dropped the first two games of a four-game road series at Colorado Mesa back in February, however DSU came back to win the final two games of that set to come away with a split ... DSU continues to lead the PacWest and is ranked #14-nationally in team batting average at .339 ... Entering play this weekend, Dixie State leads the nation in sacrifice bunts with 53 through 38 games ... Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 4.23 ERA at PLNU and enters this week third in the PacWest and #19-nationally in ERA at 3.43 ... The Trailblazers are also ranked #15-nationally in hits (430), t-16th in OB% (.421) and 17th in WHiP (1.25) ... DSU is 54-for-69 (.782) in stolen bases through 38 games, though DSU went just 1-for-4 at PLNU ... This weekend's series will mark the first four games Dixie State baseball will be officially known as the "Trailblazers" ... this past Monday, April 11, the University announced its new athletic identity, which went into effect immediately.

PLAYER NOTES: Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS) and Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) both just missed hitting for the cycle during the FPU series ... Hall did record a "cycle" in Friday DH (04/01) vs. the Sunbirds as he singled, doubled and homered in game one, and then he legged out his first triple of the season in his first AB in the night cap ... Morache fell one homer shy of the cycle in the FPU finale (04/02) ... Dixie State has never had a player hit for the cycle in the program's NCAA Division II era (482 games) ... Senior LHP Kolton Brost (Mona, Utah/Payson HS), who is t-seventh nationally in appearances (20), made his first-ever start in a DSU uniform after 41 combined appearances out of the Storm bullpen in his near two seasons in game three vs. FPU (04/01) ... Brost tossed a complete-game four-hitter and allowed one unearned run with four strikeouts in seven innings ...  Morache extended his current hitting streak to eight games after picking up hits in all four starts at PLNU ... Morache has hit safely in 35 of DSU's 38 games this season and co-leads the team (with McLaughlin) with 21 multi-hit games ... Junior OF Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) is currently ranked as the second-hardest hitter to strike out in NCAA Division II this season ... Bice has struck out just twice in 107 at-bats and 127 total plate appearances ... senior RHP Spencer Greer (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville HS) picked up his team-leading fourth and fifth saves of the season in both ends of last Saturday's twin bill at Point Loma.

UP NEXT: Dixie State closes out its 2016 home regular season schedule with a four-game series vs. Hawai'i Pacific next weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The series will be played in two doubleheaders, the first coming on Friday, April 22 at 4 p.m., followed by the final twin bill Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m.