Game Times (Mountain):
Thursday - 7 p.m.
Friday (DH) - 5 p.m.
Saturday - 1 p.m.
Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | CBU
Audio/Video: NONE
Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/cbulancers
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Thursday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (3-0. 3.62 ERA) vs. RHP Travis Booth (2-0, 2.14 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. RHP Garett King (3-1, 3.12 ERA)
Friday (G3) – LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (4-1, 4.91 ERA) vs. RHP Andrew Bash (2.95 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1, 5.11 ERA) vs. RHP Logan Rinehart (2-2, 5.46 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: After five-straight weeks at home, No. 20/18 Dixie State (17-5/6-2 PacWest) heads out on the road for a crucial four-game weekend series at PacWest rival California Baptist this Thursday-through-Saturday in Riverside.
    Thursday's series opener will begin at 6 p.m. (PT), followed by a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. (PT), and Saturday's series finale will start at 12 noon (PT). All four games will be played at James W. Totman Stadium on the CBU campus.
    DSU enters the series in third place in the PacWest standings, one full game behind CBU and two games back of Point Loma, which is 8-0 through its first two weeks of conference play.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State and California Baptist have met 31 times on the diamond over the last nine seasons, with the Lancers holding a 17-14 edge in the series. Dixie State had gotten the better of CBU over the first seven years of the rivalry by winning 12 of the first 21 games overall, however the Lancers have won eight of the last 10 meetings in the series, including four of five games last season. CBU took three of four from the Trailblazers during the regular season at home, and the Lancers eliminated DSU in the 2016 NCAA West Region semifinal, 8-6, in Riverside (5/21/16).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State wrapped up its season-long 18-game homestand (13-5 overall) by taking three of four from Concordia-Irvine last weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers won the first three games of the series (5-4, 12-4, 5-3) before dropping the finale on Sunday, 11-5.

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, who picked up his 200th-career coaching victory vs. Saint Martin's this past Feb. 19, owns a 157-72 (.685) overall record at DSU, including a 105-39 (.729) record in PacWest play, and a 209-131 (.615) career mark.
    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 SECOND 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: Dixie State is currently ranked t-third in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II West Region poll with fellow PacWest member Azusa Pacific. In all, four PacWest teams are ranked in the top-10 regionally, including CBU at No. 5 and Point Loma at No. 6.
    Dixie State is also ranked in the top-30 in four national polls this week, including No. 5 in the latest Perfect Game D-II poll (3/8), No. 7 in the D2 Baseball News poll (3/13), No. 20 in the NCBWA poll (3/14), and No. 18 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll (3/13).

REGIONAL/NATIONAL HONORS FOR MCLAUGHLIN, HILTY AND LUCERO: The NCBWA announced in January 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 did Dixie State begin 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.

HOWELL EARNS PACWEST WEEKLY HONOR: Junior relief pitcher Tanner Howell (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City HS) was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday for his efforts in the Trailblazers' series win over Concordia-Irvine last weekend.
    Howell collected two saves in Dixie State's three victories over the Eagles as he worked two total innings of one-hit scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts. On the season, Howell has appeared in eight games out of the Trailblazer bullpen and owns a 2.08 ERA with nine strikeouts in 8.2 innings pitched on the season.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State three home victories last weekend pushed the Trailblazers' record to 216-82 (.725) inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, which includes a 13-5 mark this year.
    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 24-6 overall record (.800) last season, which was the second-best home mark in the program's NCAA Division II era (26-7 in 2009), and was the best home record in four seasons under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer. In addition, DSU will play its 300th NCAA home game in the second game of a Friday twin bill vs. Point Loma this upcoming March 24.

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 with its sweep at Cal State San Bernardino (2/3-5), 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.

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 has pounded out 22 home runs through its first 22 games of the 2017 season, including three home runs last weekend vs. Concordia-Irvine and a season series-high six homers in the season-opening series at Cal State San Bernardino.
    The 22 home runs this season is eight more than the 14 DSU hit through 22 games last season. In addition, three Trailblazers have posted two homer games this season, the last being senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS), who homered in consecutive ABs in game two vs. MSUB (2/25). In fact, Lucero is the second player to accomplish that feat this season as senior infielder Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) went deep twice in back-to-back at-bats in game three at CSUSB (2/4). Prior to Mildenberg and Lucero, 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 OF/DH Ryan Rodriguez (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS) also homered twice in a game earlier this season, doing so as part of a four-hit, five-RBI night in DSU's 17-0 win over Concordia (OR) this past Feb. 16, which helped earn him PacWest player of the week honors.

ROCKIN' THE 'STACHE: Forget the "Fear The Beard" mantra, since Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer's arrival at Dixie State, his teams have created a "Mustache March" tradition, and by all accounts, it's pretty effective. Thanks to the power of the mustache, Dixie State has played to a 67-16 (.807) overall record in the month of March over the past four-plus seasons, including a 6-2 mark this month and a 19-2 record in March of 2014.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: The Trailblazers tied a school record with 24 hits in their 23-5 victory over Holy Names (3/5). All nine DSU starters in the lineup had at least one hit, eight of which had two or more safeties overall.  
    The 24 hits tied the program's NCAA-era record which was set at Cal State Los Angeles (2/10) in the 2013 season. Meanwhile, the 23 runs scored vs. HNU were the most in a single game under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer and tied for the third-highest run total in the program's four-year era. The 23 runs were also the most runs scored in a game in nearly 10 years as DSU last scored 23 runs in a win vs. Grand Canyon (23-8) back on April 30, 2008.

FROM POLE TO POLE: Senior Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) (.299/1/10RBI) started in right field in all four games vs. CUI and hit .133 (2-for-15) with one run scored ... Bice currently leads the PacWest and is FOURTH-NATIONALLY in sacrifice bunts (8) ... Senior Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) (.420/1HR/16RBI) started in all four games last weekend and hit .375 (6-for-17) with one RBI, five runs scored and one stolen base ... Kamachi has hit safely in 20 of 22 games played with 13 two-hit games (including seven-straight at one point) ... Senior Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) (.426/1HR/11RBI) came off the bench as a pinch runner in games one and three vs. CUI and had one run scored in both games ... he also played at 2B in the opener vs. the Eagles and played in LF in game three ... McLaughlin, who has not started in the last seven games after starting in 112-straight games over a span of two-plus seasons, had missed only four total games in his three-plus year DSU career overall ... McLaughlin, DSU's career hits leader (240), has hit safely in 12 of his first 15 games this year and could return to the lineup this weekend vs. CBU ... senior OF Trey Reineke (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill HS) (.261/1HR/2RBI) played in all four games with one start (G2) vs. CUI and hit .375 (3-for-8) with his first HR of the season, which came in his start in game two ... freshman OF Jake Engel (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood HS) (.182/0HR/5RBI) started in three games vs. CUI and hit a combined .286 (2-for-7) with one RBI.

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) (.397/1HR/11RBI) started the opener vs. CUI and he reached on a single in his only AB ...  he also came in as a defensive replacement in game three ... Feist is batting .485 (16-for-33) over his last 12 starts overall ... Senior SS Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) (.313/0HR/10RBI) hit .375 (6-for-16) with six runs scored and a perfect 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts ... Senior Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) (.457/4HR/22RBI) started at 2B in all four games last week vs. CUI and hit .400 (6-for-14) with one home run, four RBI and a team-high six runs scored ... Mildenberg hit what proved to be the GWHR in the seventh inning of game one vs. the Eagles ... Mildenberg, who leads the team in batting at .457, leads the PacWest and is ranked FOURTH-NATIONALLY in runs scored (29) ... Mildenberg became the first DSU player in nearly eight seasons to collect five hits in one game, the last being former DSU infielder Quinn Boyer, who had five hits in a win over Hawai'i Pacific on April 10, 2010 ... Junior 1B Logan Porter (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS) (.419/6HR/42RBI) batted .667 (8-for-12) in the CUI series with three XBH (2 2B/1HR) and a team-high 12 RBI, including a career-high tying five RBI in game two ... Porter currently LEADS THE NATION in RBI (42) and leads the team in HR (6) ... Porter has driven in 24 of his 42 RBI over his last eight games, while his batting average has skyrocketed nearly 140 points from .281 to .419 over this current stretch ... sophomore Wyatt Branch (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) (.188/0HR/2RBI) started in three games at 3B and hit .143 (1-for-7) with an RBI and a run scored ... sophomore reserve UT Kade Cloward (South Jordan, Utah/Bingham HS) (.333/0HR/0RBI) notched his first career two-hit game with a run scored in the finale vs. CUI.

THE BACKSTOPS: Senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) (.250/3HR/12RBI) started in all four games (one at DH) vs. CUI and batted .357 (5-for-14) with two doubles, one RBI and one run scored ... Lucero had at least one hit in all four games (five-game hit streak overall) ... Sophomore Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) (.389/2HR/10RBI) started behind the plate in the opener vs. CUI and went 3-for-5 with two doubles and one RBI.

ROTATION NOTES: Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (3-0/3.62 ERA/38K) did not figure in the decision in the opener vs. CUI ... File struck out six and scattered six hits and four runs (one earned) in 6.2 IP ... File's ERA has dropped over eight total runs over his last four outings, while he has recorded 30 of his 38 strikeouts on the year in those four appearances ... File enters this week t-second all-time in career wins (15), and is second in strikeouts (156) and IP (189.2).
    Senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-1/2.70 ERA/28K) won for the fifth time in six starts this season as he scattered three runs and seven hits with four strikeouts over his seven innings in game two vs. CUI ... Hilty leads the PacWest and is currently ranked THIRD-NATIONALLY in wins (5) ... Hilty also picked up his 15th-career win, which pulled him into a tie for second with File on the career wins list, while he has amassed 100 career strikeouts, which ranks him fifth on DSU's career strikeouts list ... Hilty is currently DSU's career leader in strikeouts/9 innings (7.65) and second all-time in career ERA (3.29) and fewest walks/9 innings (1.99).  
    Junior LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (4-1/4.91 ERA/24K) bounced back from a rough outing vs. Holy Names by striking out a season-high seven in 5.1 to earn his fourth victory of the season in game three vs. CUI ... Mosca tossed five scoreless innings to open his start and surrendered just two runs and four hits on the night overall.
    Sophomore RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1/5.11 ERA/14K) suffered his first loss of the season in the finale vs. CUI, during which he allowed six runs (three earned) and six hits in four innings of work.

CALL TO THE PEN: DSU bullpen worked a combined 11.0 innings in the CUI series, allowing 11 hits and five earned runs (seven total) with seven strikeouts overall ... most of the damage came in the series finale, this after the bullpen surrendered just three hits and two runs over its first six innings in the series ... along with Howell's effort, senior LHP Walker Williams (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) worked 2.2 innings of scoreless relief over three appearances while allowing just one hit with three strikeouts.

TEAM NOTES: DSU hit .353 in the four games last weekend (47-for-133) with 14 extra bases (10 2B/1 3B/3 HR) ... DSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 129-47 over the last 14 games, including a 48-22 clip in the HNU series and 27-22 vs. CUI ... DSU is averaging 8.5 runs and 11.3 hits per game through its first 22 games ... Dixie State enters this weekend's series LEADING THE NATION in sacrifice flies (19) and is second in sacrifice bunts (30), 14th in hits (250) and batting (.347), and 15th in runs scored (187).
   Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 3.90 ERA vs. CUI and held the Eagles to a .274 batting average (34-for-124) ... DSU pitchers struck out 24 CUI batters in 34.0 IP ... DSU's staff ERA now stands at 3.90 heading into this weekend's CBU series ... In the last six games, DSU pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .233 average (101-for-432) and have struck out 102 in 118 IP over that stretch.
    DSU's defense turned three double plays last weekend and now has 19 on the year, which is good for t-16th nationally, while DSU is ranked 29th in the country in fielding percentage (.969).
    DSU committed a season-high five errors in the finale vs. CUI, which led to five unearned runs ... overall DSU has committed 15 errors over its last eight games (seven vs. CUI), this after just three total errors overall a six-game stretch to close February, including just one miscue in the MSUB series (.991 FLD%).
    Cal State San Bernardino recorded the first triple play turned on DSU in the Trailblazers' NCAA-era as DSU lined into a 6-3 triple play game four on Feb. 5.
    Dixie State's 12-inning series opener vs. Colorado Mesa (2/10) was the longest game in terms of innings played since April 23, 2015, when DSU and Azusa Pacific needed 12 innings to decide an 8-7 Trailblazer victory ... DSU played in an NCAA era program-record eight extra-inning games last season and posted a 6-2 overall record in those games ... despite the extra-inning loss to CMU, DSU is 26-13 (.667) all-time in 39 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State returns home for a crucial four-game set vs. current PacWest leader Point Loma next weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The series will be played in a pair of doubleheaders, the first coming Friday, March 24 at 4 p.m., followed by a second twin bill Saturday, March 25 at 12 noon.