Game Times (Mountain):
Friday (DH) - 12 noon
Saturday - 1 p.m.
Sunday - 12 noon
Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | CMU
Audio/Video: NONE
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/baseball
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS (*2016 Stats):
Friday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (0-0, 10.38 ERA) vs. RHP JR McDermott (*7-0, 0.92 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Day (*2-1, 3.77 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (1-0, 5.79 ERA) vs. LHP Chris Ramirez (2017 debut)
Sunday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (1-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. RHP AJ Landis (*0-0, 7.84 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 9/15/16 Dixie State (4-0/0-0 PacWest) begins the home portion of its 2017 regular season schedule this weekend with a marquee four-game series against No. 8/12/10 Colorado Mesa (0-0) at Bruce Hurst Field (2,500). Due to possible rain this weekend, the series opens with a doubleheader Friday beginning at 12 noon (MT), followed by single games Saturday and Sunday starting at 1 p.m. and 12 noon (MT), respectively.
    In all, Dixie State will play 26 home games this season, which includes 18-straight home dates through the rest of February and most of March.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State trails 13-18 in its series vs. Colorado Mesa as the Mavericks have won 13 of the last 18 meetings between the two teams, this after DSU won eight of the first 13 overall. Last season in Grand Junction, the two teams came away with a hard-fought split of a very competitive four-game series (2/26-28/16) that saw all four games decided by one run. CMU claimed the first two games in walk-off fashion, 2-1 (10) and 5-4, before the Trailblazers rallied for a 6-5 win in game three and a 13-12 result in the series finale.
    The last time the two sides squared off in St. George, the Mavericks took three of four from DSU at Bruce Hurst Field (2/13-15/15).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened the 2017 season last weekend with a four-game sweep at Cal State San Bernardino. The Trailblazers rallied from a 6-4 deficit with five unanswered runs en route to a 9-6 win in the opener last Friday. DSU then swept a Saturday doubleheader (13-6 and 5-4) and completed the sweep with a 10-1 decision on Sunday.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his fifth season as head coach of the Dixie State Baseball program. Pfatenhauer led DSU to consecutive PacWest titles (2014 and 2015) and to four-straight trips (five-straight overall) to the NCAA West Regionals, including serving as the host institution in 2013. Pfatenhauer owns a 144-67 (.682) overall record at DSU, including a 99-37 (.728) record in PacWest play.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is second-year pitching coach Michael Gargano (Walden University, 2013), along with third-year assistant coaches Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015), and Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014), and second-year assistant coach Patrick Perry (Northern Colorado, 2013).

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED IN PACWEST PRESEASON POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish second in the 2017 Pacific West Conference preseason coaches' poll released on January 26. Defending PacWest champion California Baptist received five first place votes and 91 total points to edge DSU in being tabbed as the PacWest preseason favorite, while the Trailblazers collected three first-place votes and finished with 90 points. Azusa Pacific (one first-place vote) was picked to finish third with 78 points, followed by Point Loma (one first-place vote, 66 points) in fourth and Fresno Pacific (54 points) in fifth to round out the top-half of the poll.
    Dixie State senior second baseman Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) was voted as PacWest Preseason Player of the Year and junior righthander Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) was named PacWest Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year. In all, the Trailblazers landed a league-high four players on the PacWest preseason team, which includes senior outfielder Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) and senior 1B/DH Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS).

DSU IN THE POLLS: The preseason prognostications are out and Dixie State has earned plenty of regional and national preseason attention. The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its 2017 NCAA Division II West Region preseason poll Jan. 26, and ranked the Trailblazers second-overall behind PacWest rival California Baptist. Fellow PacWest members Azusa Pacific (6th) and Point Loma (9th) were also listed on the top-10 regional list.
    Dixie State is also ranked in the top-20 in three preseason national polls, including No. 9 in the Perfect Game D-II poll, 15th in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll, and 16th in the NCBWA poll.

REGIONAL/NATIONAL HONORS FOR MCLAUGHLIN, HILTY AND LUCERO: The NCBWA announced last month its 2017 preseason all-West Region and All-America honorees and three Trailblazers made the cut. McLaughlin, senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) and senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) were all voted to the West Region first team, while McLaughlin garnered third team All-America honors, and Hilty earned honorable mention All-America honors.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Not only is Dixie State entering the 2017 season looking to win its third PacWest crown in four seasons, the Trailblazers are also hoping to keep its NCAA postseason streak alive as well. DSU has made five-straight NCAA regional appearances, which is currently the longest active streak in the West Region.

MILDENBERG NAMED PACWEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior infielder Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) was named PacWest Baseball Player of the Week Monday for his efforts in helping lead the Trailblazers to their four-game sweep at Cal State San Bernardino.
    Mildenberg started in three of the four games and batted .556 (5-of-9) with three extra base hits, four RBI and five runs scored. He collected at least one base hit in all three starts, including a 3-for-3 effort with two home runs, one double, three RBI and three runs scored in game three Saturday afternoon. Mildenberg also had a hit and a run scored in the opener last Friday, and also connected for an RBI-hit with a run scored in Sunday's finale.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State finished its 2016 home season with a 24-6 overall record (.800), which was the second-best home mark in the program's NCAA Division II era (26-7 in 2009), and the best home record in four seasons under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer. Dixie State is 203-77 (.725) in 280 games inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since 2007 (first NCAA season).
    DSU has posted a winning record at home in all 10 seasons of NCAA play and has won 20 or more games in six of those 10 seasons, including a program-best 26 wins in 2009, and a 22-5 record under Coach Pfatenhauer in 2014.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Dixie State has also held its own away from home as the Trailblazers opened the year 4-0 on the road, this after playing to a 14-7 road record in the 2016 regular season.
    DSU owns a 115-97 overall road record (.542) through its first 10-plus years of D-II competition with six-straight winning road marks. In 2015, DSU went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750) and has won at least 10 road games in seven-straight seasons overall.
    When you also figure in neutral-site games (7-8 in 15 games), Dixie State is 122-105 (.537) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in NCAA play.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: For just the third time in the program's NCAA Division II era, Dixie State has started a season 4-0 after the Trailblazers swept CSUSB last weekend. Last season, DSU opened with a four-game home sweep of CSUSB en route to a program-record 10-0 start. Last weekend's sweep also marked the second time in the program's NCAA-era that DSU swept a road series to start a season. In 2012, Dixie State posted a 4-0 sweep at Notre Dame de Namur on its way to a 5-0 start to that season.
    The back-to-back 4-0 starts the past two seasons also bucked a trend that saw DSU drop the first seven games in each of the previous two seasons (2014 and 2015). However those seasons turned out just fine as DSU won the PacWest championship and advanced on to the NCAA West Regionals in each of those years.

JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State set a new four-year program record for victories with 40 wins (38 regular season games) in the 2016 campaign. DSU's record-breaking season was bolstered by a 10-0 start to begin the season, its best overall start in the program's 10-year NCAA-era.
    DSU has won 30 games or more in each of the last eight seasons, including 35 in 2012 (35-20), en route to a 321-182 (.638) overall record in 10 years of NCAA Division II competition (503 games). The Trailblazers won its 300th game as a four-year program in the second game of a doubleheader at Holy Names on March 18, 2016. In addition, DSU recorded its 30th win of the 2016 season in game No. 38 (at PLNU - 4/8), which was the fastest the program had won 30 games in a season in DSU's four-year era.

IT'S DEEP AND I DON'T THINK IT'S PLAYABLE: Dixie State pounded out six home runs in the CSUSB series last weekend, including two apiece for Mildenberg and junior 1B/DH Logan Porter (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS), while junior catcher Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) and senior outfielder Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) accounted for the other two long balls.
    The six homers hit last weekend are the most hit through the first four games of a season in the program's NCAA-era, eclipsing the previous total of five HRs set twice in 2009 and again in 2010.

FROM POLE TO POLE: Senior RF Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) started in all three games at CSUSB and hit .333 (4-for-12) with a double and two RBI ... Bice extended his hitting streak to six games (dating back to last season) with hits in each of the first three games, but saw that streak come to an end in the series finale ... Kamachi also started in all four games at CSUSB and hit .333 (5-for-15), including a 5-for-10 clip in the final three games after a 0-for-5 day in the opener ... Kamachi connected for a three-run HR in game two and finished the series with RBI, two extra-base hits (1 2B) and five runs scored ... Seniors Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) and Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS) split starts in left field in the CSUSB series, with McLaughlin starting games one and three, and Rodriguez in games two and four ... senior OF Trey Reineke (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill HS) came off the bench to play in two games (G2 and G4) and went a combined 1-for-2 with a single, while sophomore Kade Cloward (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS) saw time in LF in G2.

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) played in all four games with three starts at CSUSB and batted .250 (4-for-16) with three runs scored ... Mildenberg started the finale at 3B and started games one and three at 2B ... Mildenberg became the first Trailblazers in just over two full seasons to hit a home run in consecutive at-bats when he went deep twice in game three last Saturday ... former DSU outfielder Donald Glover was the last to accomplish the feat, doing so in a home loss vs. Fresno Pacific on May 3, 2014 ... senior SS Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) started all four games at CSUSB and collected at least one hit in all four starts out of the lead-off spot ... Baker hit .438 (7-for-16) with one RBI, six runs scored and two stolen bases ... Baker had three hits and three runs scored in the finale.
    McLaughlin batted .308 (4-for-13) with four RBI and two runs scored in four starts at CSUSB, two in LF and two at 2B ... McLaughlin drove in runs in three of the four games, including two RBI in the finale ... Rodriguez hit .200 (2-for-10) in four starts at CSUSB, two in LF and two at 1B, and had one double, one RBI and two runs scored ... Porter started all four games, two at 1B and two at DH, and combined to hit .188 (3-for-16) with two homers, a team-high five RBI and four runs scored ... junior Cam Gust (Riverton, Utah/Riverton HS) was the starting DH in the finale and drew two walks and had an RBI and a run scored. 

THE BACKSTOPS: Senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) played in all four games at CSUSB with three starts (one at DH) and hit .385 (5-for-13) with two doubles, four RBI and two runs scored ... Lucero collected two hits and two RBI in game one, and connected for three more base knocks with two RBI in game two ... Davison started behind the plate in games two and four and hit an even .500 (3-for-6) with four RBI and three runs scored ... Davison collected all three hits, including a seventh-inning three-run HR, in game two to give DSU an 11-0 lead.

ROTATION NOTES: Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (ND) started the opener at CSUSB but did not figure into the decision after surrendering six runs (five earned) and five hits over 4.1 innings with three strikeouts ... File was picked up by the Trailblazer offense, which scored five unanswered runs, including a four-run seventh inning, as DSU rallied for the win.
    Senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (1-0) was dominant in his start in game two at CSUSB as he fired six innings of two-hit, shutout baseball with six strikeouts ... Hilty allowed only four Coyote hitters to reach base.
    Junior LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (1-0) enjoyed a solid start in his Trailblazer debut as he blanked CSUSB over his first four innings of work in game three ... he wound up going 4.2 innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out four to pick up the win.  
    Sophomore RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (W, 1-0) scattered four hits and one run over his 5.2 innings in the finale at CSUSB ... Hannay fanned three to help lead the Trailblazers to the series sweep. 

CALL TO THE PEN: The DSU bullpen combined for one win and two saves in the CSUSB series ... senior RHP closer Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) collected two saves on the weekend, while senior RHP Walker Williams (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) pitched 1.2 innings of one-hit relief to earn victory out of the bullpen in the opener ... Williams (2.0 IP), along with senior relievers Sean Hardman (Pleasant Grove, Utah/American Fork HS) (3.0 IP) and Jose Rosales-Rodarte (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) (1.2 IP), and junior Tanner Howell (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City HS) (2.1 IP), combined for nine innings of four-hit scoreless relief with five combined strikeouts.

TEAM NOTES: DSU hit .326 in the CSUSB series last weekend (43-of-132), with 13 of its 43 total hits going for extra bases (7 2B/6 HR) ... DSU is averaging 9.25 runs and 10.75 hits per game ... Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 4.24 ERA and collected 22 strikeouts in 34.0 IP.
    Dixie State committed just one error in 152 total chances in the CSUSB, which included the final 30 innings of play after the lone error occurred in the fourth innings of game one ... Cal State San Bernardino committed nine total errors in the four-game series (five in the finale), which led to 10 unearned DSU runs ... however the news was not all bad for the Coyotes at CSUSB recorded the first triple play turned on DSU in the Trailblazers' NCAA-era as DSU lined into a 6-3 triple play in Sunday's finale.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State returns to action next weekend with three games against two opponents at Bruce Hurst Field. DSU will play Concordia (OR) and Saint Martin's in a split doubleheader on Friday, Feb. 17, at 3:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. DSU will also play SMU in a single game on Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m.
    Concordia, SMU and Cal State Los Angeles will also play round-robin games against each other over the three-day slate of games.