Game Times (Mountain):
Friday (DH) - 1 p.m.
Saturday (DH) - 1 p.m.

Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | POINT LOMA
Audio/Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/plnu
Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/plnu
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #RollStorm | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROJECTED STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (2-2; 4.96 ERA) vs. RHP Kellen Sheppard (5-2; 1.72 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (3-0, 3.32) vs. RHP Nathan Bennett (1-0; 0.00 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (3-0, 2.96 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Abshire (2-2; 3.96 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (7-0, 3.04 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Lillicrop (5-0; 3.05 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 13/14/15 Dixie State (28-6/16-4 PacWest) takes its 10-game winning streak on the road this weekend as the Storm travels to San Diego for a four-game series at Point Loma (18-10/7-7 PacWest). The series will be played in a pair of doubleheaders this Friday and Saturday, April 8-9, beginning at 12 noon (PDT) each day at Carroll B. Land Stadium on the PLNU campus.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State pushed its winning streak to double digits after the Storm posted a perfect 8-0 homestand last week. DSU swept a four-game series vs. Hawai'i Hilo to open the week, outscoring the Vulcans 39-14 over the pair of doubleheaders. Then Dixie State took all four games of a weekend set against Fresno Pacific, in which the Storm outscored the Sunbirds 43-14 en route to the sweep.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State and Point Loma have split the first 14 games of the series between the two schools, though the Storm has won five of the last eight meetings overall, including a 2-2 split last season in St. George and a 3-1 DSU series victory the last time the two teams met in San Diego back 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 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 128-59 (.684) overall record at DSU, including a 89-31 (.741) record in PacWest play. Pfatenhauer is 7-5 all-time vs. Point Loma as DSU head coach.

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's perfect 8-0 homestand and current 10-game winning streak, the Storm moved up in the national and regional rankings this week. DSU is currently ranked 13th in the National College Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) poll and is 15th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-30 poll. Dixie State also moved up one spot to #2 in the NCBWA West Region poll, while DSU is ranked #14 in the April 5 D2BaseballNews.com top-25 poll.

HOME SWEET HOME: Thanks to the perfect homestand, 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 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 road records. 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 also figure in neutral-site games (5-7 in 12 games), DSU is 111-100 (.526) 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 309-174 (.640) 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 200th road game in the opener at Point Loma Friday, followed by the program's 250th PacWest game in Friday's second game of the doubleheader. That game will also be 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.

DSU DOMINATES PACWEST AND NCBWA WEEKLY AWARDS: After a perfect 8-0 homestand, three Dixie State baseball players earned at least a share of the Pacific West Conference weekly awards on Monday. Senior first baseman Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS) was named conference co-player of the week, while junior righthander Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) earned PacWest pitcher of the week honors, and junior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) garnered league co-newcomer of the week recognition. In addition, Hall and Hilty were named National College Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) West Region Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for their efforts last week.

Hall hit .424 (14-for-33) with five extra-base hits, 12 RBI and eight runs scored. He recorded a hit in seven of his eight starts, including five multi-hit efforts. In the doubleheader sweep of Fresno Pacific last Friday, Hall drove in 11 of Dixie State's total 25 runs. He went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and a career-high six RBI in the first game. Hall then followed that up by going 3-for-4 in the nightcap with an RBI-triple and a grand slam to cap off a doubleheader cycle.

Hilty earned two wins during the homestand to help extend the Storm's current winning streak to 10 games. He threw 9.1 shutout innings in his two appearances, striking out 11 while allowing just seven hits and two walks. He fired five scoreless innings and scattered two hits with six strikeouts in DSU's 20-6 win in game two against Hawai'i Hilo March 28. Hilty then worked 4.1 innings of relief last Saturday vs. FPU, allowing just five hits and no walks with five strikeouts in becoming the first pitcher in DSU's NCAA era to win his first seven decisions. Hilty currently leads the PacWest in wins (7) and is fourth in strikeouts (49).

Lucero earned his second PacWest newcomer honor this season after he hit .667 (12-for-18) in five starts behind the plate and matched Hall with 12 RBI on the week with seven runs scored. He went 4-for-4 with a career-high four RBI in the second game against Hawai'i Hilo March 28, and in three games in the FPU series, went 7-for-10 with seven RBI and five runs scored. Lucero is currently on a career-best five-game hitting streak.

IT'S DEEP AND I DON'T THINK IT'S PLAYABLE: Dixie State has homered 24 times this season, including eight home runs from six different sluggers, Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS), Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS), Cam Gust (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS), Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS), Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) and Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS), in DSU's homestand. Hall and Kamachi each homered twice last week and both hit grand slams for good measure. Kamachi picked up his grand slam as part of a nine-run second inning in DSU's 20-6 win vs. UHH March 28. Meanwhile Hall hit his second grand slam in a Storm uniform in game three of the FPU series (10-1 DSU win) on April 1. Hall's first DSU grand slam came last season in a 10-6 home win vs. Academy of Art (3/28/15).

In all, 19 of DSU's 24 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. The Storm also hit three homers vs. Saint Martin's (2/21), which included arguably one of the most memorable home runs in program history as Tanner Morache (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada/Surrey HS) connected for 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).

TEAM NOTES: Through 34 games this season, Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer has used 32 different starting line-up/batting order combinations ... In addition, DSU has employed 26 different starting defensive line-ups through 34 games ... Prior to game two of the UHH series, the last time DSU scored 20 runs in a game was last season at home vs. Point Loma (W, 20-9; 5/1/15) ... DSU only issued five walks in the UHH series and 15 total walks in 69.0 inning pitched during the homestand ... DSU has seven series victories on the season, including four four-game sweeps ... DSU's shutout win in the Hilo finale was the Storm's third of the year ... DSU scored 12 two-out runs in game two vs. UHH and tallied 49 of its 82 total runs on the homestand after two outs ... For for just the second time this season DSU had more runs than hits as the Storm finished with 10 runs and nine hits in the nightcap of last Friday's DH vs. FPU … prior to that Dixie State had eight runs and seven hits in a win vs. MSU Billings (2/12) ... DSU's current 10-game winning streak matches its season-high, which was set after the Storm's 10-0 start (all at home) to begin the 2016 campaign ... DSU has reached double figures in hits in 23 games and has scored at least one run in all 34 games this season ... DSU pounded out 110 hits and batted .394 (110-for-279) with 82 runs scored in the homestand ... 34 of the 110 total hits went for extra bases, including 22 doubles, four triples and eight HRs ... DSU continues to lead the PacWest and is ranked #14-nationally in team batting average at .342 ... Entering play this weekend, Dixie State leads the nation in sacrifice bunts with 46 through 34 games ... Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 2.87 ERA during the homestand and enters this week third in the PacWest and #19-nationally in ERA at 3.31 ... DSU is 53-for-65 (.815) in stolen bases through 34 games, including a 8-for-12 effort on the homestand ... This weekend's series will mark the last four games Dixie State baseball will be known as the "Red Storm" ... on Monday, April 11, the University will announce its new athletic identity, which will go into effect immediately.

PLAYER NOTES: Hilty's seven-straight decision wins to open the season broke the previous record of six set by former DSU pitcher Tyson Bailey, who won his first six decisions in 2009 … Hilty is now one decision win shy of tying the school-record of eight-straight, which was done in 2014 by current senior RHP Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) and former Storm hurler John Conquy (Las Vegas, NV/Durango), who both achieved the feat after each started that season 0-1 ... 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's DH 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 ... Dixie State has never had a player hit for the cycle in the program's NCAA Division II era (482 games) ... Senior righthander Jeremy Alderman (Cheney, Wash./Cheney HS) picked up his third win of the season in game two vs. FPU, scattering five hits and one run over five innings with three strikeouts to earn the victory ... senior LHP Kolton Brost (Mona, Utah/Payson HS) 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 last Friday ... Brost tossed a complete-game four-hitter and allowed one unearned run with four strikeouts in seven innings ...  After allowing the run in the first inning, Brost retired the next 10 Sunbirds faced and held FPU to just two hits the rest of the way to earn his second win of the year ... Hall's doubleheader tear came on the heels of his 15-game hitting streak being halted in the FPU opener ... Morache had extended his hitting streak to a team season-high 18 games before it was snapped in the UHH finale, and then he promptly started a new streak as he had at least on hit in all four games vs. FPU, including a four-hit effort in the finale ... Morache has hit safely in 31 of DSU's 34 games this season and leads the team with 19 multi-hit games ... Morache is also the PacWest's leading hitter with a .432 batting average ... CF Jerome Hill II (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS) had himself a solid homestand as the junior batted .560 (14-for-25) overall with six multi-hit games, six RBI and 11 runs scored ... after going hitless in the opener vs. UHH, Hill II collected at least one base in the final seven games of the homestand ... junior OF Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) also had a great week at the plate as he hit .444 (12-for-27) with six RBI and six runs scored ... junior 3B Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) returned to the Storm lineup after missing seven weeks due to injury and hit .417 (5-for-12) in five starts with an RBI and four runs scored ... senior RHP Spencer Greer (Woodinville, Wash./Woodinville HS) picked up his team-leading third save of the season in the opener vs. FPU, and junior RHP Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) earned his first save in G1 vs. UHH. 

UP NEXT: Dixie State returns home for an eight-game homestand to wrap up its home portion of the 2016 regular season, beginning with a four-game series vs. Azusa Pacific at Bruce Hurst Field April 14-16.