(Postgame Press Briefing - Video)

No. 10 Dixie State saw its NCAA West Regional run begin on a sour note Thursday as the second-seeded Trailblazers dropped the tournament's opening game to fifth-seeded Cal State Monterey Bay, 6-3, at Totman Stadium on the California Baptist University campus.

The Trailblazers (38-13) took a quick 1-0 lead in the first inning as Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS) drove home Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) with the game's first run on an RBI-groundout. McLaughlin started the rally with a one-out infield single and Samuel Hall (Ogden, Utah/Bonneville HS) advanced him to third on an opposite-field double.

Sophomore starter Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (ND) breezed through the first two-plus innings, retiring seven of the first eight Otters he faced, including four early strikeouts. However Monterey Bay (34-19) would take advantage of two Trailblazer errors in the top half of the third to plate an unearned run to knot the score at 1-1. CSUMB then took the lead an inning later when Hayden Duer led off the frame with a solo home run to left field to give the Otters a 2-1 advantage.

Dixie State wrestled the lead back with a pair of runs in the home half of the fourth, which started with consecutive lead-off singles by Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) and Jerome Hill II (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS). Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) and Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) then drove the duo in with back-to-back sacrifice fly outs to stake DSU to a 3-2 lead.

Monterey Bay pulled even in the sixth with another lead-off solo homer, this time off the bat of Kevin Davidson, but File managed to limit Otters to the single tally to escape the stanza with a 3-3 tie.

The game remained tied until the top of the eighth as the Otters would load the bases with two outs. Dixie State looked as if it would escape the frame with a tie as DSU reliever Chance Abrath (Salt Lake City, Utah/West HS) (L, 3-4) induced a potential inning-ending ground out, but a costly infield throwing error brought in two runs and the Otters tacked on another run with a base hit as CSUMB reclaimed the lead at 6-3.

The Trailblazers tried to mount a late rally as they had a runner in scoring position in each of their final two offensive frames, but the Otters kept DSU at bay to close out the game.

Dixie State lost despite outhitting CSUMB 8-7, with McLaughlin and Rodriguez leading the way with two hits apiece. File pitched seven solid innings, scattering four hits and two earned runs (three total) with eight strikeouts, but did not figure in the decision. However six walks and three DSU defensive errors proved to be difference as the Trailblazers need to win out to keep their season alive.

"The whole week's about surviving, whether you win that game or lose, you got to win four games and play really good teams," DSU Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer said. "We're going to play our tail off and play as hard as we can to the last out and hopefully we can keep playing through the weekend."

Dixie State will face No. 6-seed Cal State East Bay in an elimination game Friday morning at 11 a.m. (PT), at Totman Stadium. CSUEB was defeated by top-seed CBU, 14-0, in the tournament's second game on Thursday.

GAME NOTES: Thursday's game was Dixie State's 500^th NCAA Division II game ... File's eight strikeouts were one off of his career-high of nine set earlier this season in a win at Holy Names (3-0; 3/18/16) ... File's four hits allowed marked the sixth time in 14 starts the sophomore has allowed four runs or less ... the game vs. CSUMB was the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Otters on the diamond ... DSU is now 5-9 all-time in NCAA West Regional play.