Game Times (Mountain):
Saturday (DH) - 2 p.m.
Sunday (DH) - 12 noon
Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | HNU
Audio/Video: NONE
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/baseball
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Saturday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (2-0, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Aiden McIntyre (1-1, 1.71 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (3-0, 4.60 ERA) vs. RHP Gunnar David (0-3, 3.50 ERA)
Sunday (G3) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (3-1, 2.33 ERA) vs. LHP Jimmy Doyle (0-3, 11.37 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (1-0, 5.17 ERA) vs. RHP Ricardo Torres (0-2, 3.38 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 18/23 Dixie State (11-3/0-0 PacWest) opens Pacific West Conference play this weekend as the Trailblazers host Holy Names in a four-game series at Bruce Hurst Field. The series will be played in a pair of doubleheaders, the first coming Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a second twin bill Sunday at 12 noon.

ALL-TIME SERIES: DSU Dixie State is 14-2 in its series vs. Holy Names, including taking three of four from the Hawks last season in the Bay Area. The Trailblazers are 7-1 all-time vs. HNU both at Bruce Hurst Field and on the road overall.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State closed out the first month of the 2017 regular season with a three-game sweep of Montana State Billings last weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers received arguably two of the most dominant pitching performances in program history, the first from junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS), who fanned a career-high 11 in a three-hit complete game shutout in a 6-0 win in the opener Feb. 24. Then two days later, senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) fired a one-hit complete game shutout with a career-best nine strikeouts in a 5-0 win in the series finale.
    Those two performances book-ended a 12-8 DSU win in a slug fest in game two Feb. 25, during which Dixie State pounded out four home runs to rally from an early 7-3 deficit.
    Meanwhile Holy Names enjoyed last weekend off after losing three of four in a split home-and-home four-game set with Cal State East Bay Feb. 18-19. The Hawks won the first game of the series before dropping the final three games of the set.

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 151-70 (.683) overall record at DSU, including a 99-37 (.728) record in PacWest play, and a 203-129 (.611) 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 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 third in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II West Region poll, two spots below fellow PacWest member Azusa Pacific, which has won 10 of its first 11 games to open the year to vault from not being ranked to the No. 1 overall spot. Two more PacWest teams are listed in the top 10 regionally, including CBU at No. 5 and Point Loma at No. 8.
    Dixie State is also ranked in the top-25 in four national polls this week, including No. 5 in the latest Perfect Game D-II poll (3/1), No. 11 in the D2 Baseball News poll (2/27), No. 18 in the NCBWA poll (2/28), and No. 23 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll (2/27).

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.

KAMACHI AND HILTY EARN PACWEST WEEKLY HONORS: Senior outfielder Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) and Hilty both earned Pacific West Conference Baseball weekly awards on Monday for their collective efforts in the Trailblazers' home series sweep of Montana State Billings last weekend.
    Kamachi was named conference Player of the Week after batting .455 (5-for-11) with one triple, two RBI, three runs scored and three stolen bases in the three-game series. He extended his hitting streak to 13-straight games overall as he collected two hits and two runs scored in each of the first two games of the series, then went 1-for-2 with two stolen bases and two runs scored in the finale. Kamachi is DSU's leading hitter with a .442 batting average.
    Hilty was named PacWest co-Pitcher of the Week and NCBWA West Region Pitcher of the Week after firing a complete game one-hit shutout in the Trailblazers' 5-0 series finale win Sunday afternoon. Hilty struck out a career-high nine and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while only two Yellowjacket hitters reached base safely against him the entire game. The victory moved Hilty to 3-1 on the year and he owns a 2.33 ERA with 17 strikeouts through his first four outings of the season.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State three home victories last weekend pushed the Trailblazers' record to 210-80 (.724) inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, which includes a 7-3 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, 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 15 home runs through its first 14 games of the 2017 season, including five home runs last weekend vs. MSUB and a season series-high six homers in the season-opening series at Cal State San Bernardino.
    The 15 home runs this season is six more than the nine DSU hit through 14 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 last Saturday. 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.

FROM POLE TO POLE: Senior Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) (.375/1HR/9RBI) started in right field in all three games last weekend and hit .250 (2-for-8) with an RBI and two runs scored ... Bice currently leads the PacWest and is SECOND-NATIONALLY in sacrifice bunts (7) ... Kamachi (.442/1HR/12RBI) extended his hitting streak to 13 games with hits in all three games vs. MSUB ... Kamachi has nine two-hit games (including seven-straight at one point) during his current hitting streak and he is batting at a .489 clip (23-for-47) over that stretch ... Kamachi also legged out his first career triple in the MSUB series opener and moved into sixth place on DSU's career hits list (165) ... Senior Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) (.400/1HR/10RBI) started in left field in all three games vs. MSUB over the weekend and hit .182 (2-of-11) with a two-run HR in game two vs. the Yellowjackets ... McLaughlin, who is DSU's career hits leader (237), has hit safely in 11 of his first 14 games overall.

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) (.395/0HR/7RBI) started in all three games vs. MSUB and hit an even .400 (4-for-10) with a double, two RBI and two runs scored ... Feist is batting .555 (10-for-18) over his last seven games overall ... Feist posted his first career four-hit game (4-for-4) in the finale vs. SMU and finished with three runs scored ... Senior SS Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) (.319/0HR/7RBI) hit .364 (4-for-11) in three starts vs. MSUB with one double, three RBI and two runs scored ... Senior Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) (.415/2HR/12RBI) started at 2B in all three games last week vs. MSUB and hit .333 (3-for-9) a double, one RBI and three runs scored ... Junior 1B Logan Porter (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS) (.280/4HR/18RBI) batted .364 (4-for-11) in the MSUB series with two home runs, a team series-high six RBI and four runs scored ... Porter drove in three runs in the series opener, including a two-run HR, and collected two more RBI on a two-run blast in the game-two victory.

THE BACKSTOPS: Senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) (.250/3HR/10RBI) started in two games (one at DH) vs. MSUB and batted .286 (2-for-7) with two homers and three RBI ... Lucero homered in consecutive ABs in DSU's win in game two and collected an RBI in the series opener ... sophomore Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) (.316/1HR/4RBI) started games one and three vs. MSUB and hit .250 (1-for-4) in the two games with two walks and one run scored.

ROTATION NOTES: Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (2-0/4.94 ERA/23K) enjoyed his most dominant start in his three-year DSU career as he struck out a career-high 11 in a complete game three-hit ShO in game one vs. MSUB ... File needed only 98 pitches in posting his second-straight CG of the season and fourth of his career (T-5th all-time) ... File's 11 strikeouts tied for the fourth most in a game in the program's NCAA era and gave him 141 for his career (#2 all-time) ... File's win was the 14th of his collegiate career, which moved him into sole possession of second place on DSU's career wins list.
    Junior LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (3-0/4.60ERA/13K) pitched into the second inning in DSU's 12-8 win in game two vs. MSUB, though he did not figure into the decision ... Mosca struck out two, but did surrender four runs and five hits in one full inning.
    Senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (3-1/2.33ERA/17K) won for the third time in four starts this season as fired a complete game one-hit shutout in the Trailblazers' 5-0 series finale win vs. MSUB ... Hilty struck out a career-high nine and carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, while only two Yellowjacket hitters reached base safely against him the entire game ... Hilty also picked up his 13th-career win, which moved into a tie for third place on DSU career wins list, while his nine Ks vaulted him to eighth (89) on DSU's career strikeouts list ... Hilty also became eligible for three more career pitching categories, and he immediately elevated to the top of all three lists ... Hilty currently stands as DSU's career leader in strikeouts/9 innings (7.65) and is now second all-time in career ERA (3.26) and fewest walks/9 innings (2.06).  
    Sophomore RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (1-0/5.17ERA/9K) pitched four innings of relief in game two vs. MSUB and scattered five hits and three runs with four strikeouts ... after giving up three runs in the first two innings of his appearance, he surrendered only one hit over his final two innings of work.

CALL TO THE PEN: In addition to Hannay's effort, four other Trailblazer relievers combined to throw four innings of two-hit, one-run relief with five strikeouts to close out the game two win vs. MSUB ... senior RHP Sean Hardman (Pleasant Grove, Utah/American Fork HS) struck out one and was credited with his third-career DSU victory, while senior relievers Walker Williams (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) and Jose Rosales-Rodarte (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) each struck out one in recording one inning of hitless relief with a strikeout ... junior RHP Tanner Howell (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City HS) shook off an MSUB lead-off homer in the ninth to strike out two of the final three Yellowjackets he faced to end the game ... Hardman and Rosales-Rodarte have yet to yield an earned run in a combined 13.2 innings of work between them through 11 total appearances ... DSU has recorded three saves through its first 14 games, including two by senior closer Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) and one more from Williams.

TEAM NOTES: DSU hit .293 in the three games last weekend (27-for-92) with nine extra bases (3 2B/1 3B/5 HR) ... DSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 54-13 over the last six games ... Kamachi's three stolen bases (7-for-8 on the year) last weekend vs. MSUB moved him into sole possession of first place on DSU's career steals list, three steals clear of McLaughlin (27 steals) as the team has passed the quarter-pole of the 2017 season ... DSU is averaging 8.0 runs and 11.0 hits per game through its first 14 games ... Dixie State enters this weekend's series LEADING THE NATION in sacrifice bunts (23) and sacrifice flies (15), and is ranked 24th in hits (154) and 28th in runs scored (112).   
    After going nearly three years without a nine-inning complete game shutout, DSU had two pitchers hurl masterpieces in less than 48 hours ... Prior to the File and Hilty outings, the last time a DSU pitcher threw a nine-inning complete-game shutout was former Dixie State pitcher Jon Conquy in a 7-0 home win Cal State Los Angeles 7-0 (4/18/14).
    In all, Dixie State's pitching staff combined to post a 2.67 ERA and held MSUB to a .167 batting average (16-for-96) ... DSU surrendered eight runs (all earned) in 27.0 IP with 31 strikeouts ... DSU's staff ERA dropped nearly a half run from 4.21 to 3.87 heading into this weekend's HNU series ... In the last six games, DSU pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .187 average (33-for-176) and have struck out 44 in 50 IP, while the staff has posted a 1.98 team ERA over that stretch.
    After committing seven errors (in 165 chances) in the Colorado Mesa series, the Trailblazers have committed just three total errors in the last six games, including just one miscue in the MSUB series (.991 FLD%) ... After turning 13 double plays in its first 11 games, Dixie State did not record a twin-killing in the MSUB series ... despite that fact, DSU is ranked NINTH-NATIONALLY with its 13 double plays and is ranked 14th in the country in fielding percentage (.979).
    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. CMU (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 closes its season-long 18-game homestand next weekend as the Trailblazers welcome in Concordia-Irvine for a four-game PacWest series March 10-12 at Bruce Hurst Field.