Game Times (Mountain):
Friday (DH) - 4 p.m.
Saturday (DH) - 12 noon
Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | PLNU
Audio/Video: NONE
Live Stats: www.sidearmstats.com/dixie/baseball
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (4-0, 3.07 ERA) vs. RHP Kellen Sheppard (5-0, 3.32 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-1, 4.37 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Abshire (2-1, 3.18 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1, 4.99 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Lillicrop (2-1, 5.25 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – TBA vs. LHP Stephen Young (4-0, 1.80 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. T-19/13 Dixie State (20-6/9-3 PacWest) begins the second half of its 2017 regular season with a crucial four-game home series against Pacific West Conference leader No. T-25/20 Point Loma (16-4/8-0 PacWest) this weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. The series will be played in a pair of doubleheaders, the first coming Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a second twin bill Saturday at 12 noon.
    DSU enters the series in second place in the PacWest standings behind Point Loma, which has only played in two conference series, while DSU has played in 12 league games overall.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State and Point Loma have played to an even 9-9 record in the 18 games played between the two schools, including a split of a four-game set last season in San Diego. The Trailblazers have won seven of the last 12 meetings overall, including a 2-2 series split the last time the two side met at Bruce Hurst Field back in 2015.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened the road portion of its PacWest slate on a high note as the Trailblazers took three of four at California Baptist last weekend in Riverside. DSU rode a fine pitching performance by junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) to take the series opener by a 6-1 count (3/16), then swept both ends of a St. Patrick's Day twin bill by 14-12 and 6-3 counts. The 14-12 win in game two of the series featured the biggest comeback in DSU's NCAA-era as the Trailblazers rallied for 11 unanswered runs, including a nine-run eighth inning, to erase a 12-3 deficit and claim the two-run victory. CBU then turned the tables on DSU in the series finale last Saturday as the Lancers scored seven-unanswered runs over the final three innings of play to avoid the sweep in a 10-9 walk-off win.

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 160-73 (.686) overall record at DSU, including a 108-40 (.729) record in PacWest play, and a 212-132 (.616) 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 fourth in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) NCAA Division II West Region poll, one spot below fellow PacWest member Azusa Pacific (No. 3) and one spot ahead of Point Loma (No. 5). In all, four PacWest teams are ranked in the top-10 regionally, including CBU at No. 7.
    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 (3/15), No. 4 in the D2 Baseball News poll (3/20), No. t-19 in the NCBWA poll (3/21), and No. 13 in the most recent Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll (3/20).

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 EARNS PACWEST WEEKLY HONOR: For the second time this season, senior outfielder Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) was named PacWest Player of the Week on Tuesday for his performance in the Trailblazers' road series win at California Baptist last weekend.
    Kamachi hit .467 (7-for-15) with one home run, five RBI and five runs scored to help lead DSU to three wins in the four-game series. He collected at least one hit and one RBI in all four starts, including a 4-for-5 effort with two RBI and two runs scored in the Trailblazers' 14-12 come-from-behind win last Friday night. Kamachi, who also won the league's weekly honor this past Feb. 27, has hit safely in 24 of DSU's 26 games and he currently leads the PacWest in batting (.427), hits (41) and runs scored (32). 

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State has played to a 216-82 (.725) overall record 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 are 7-1 on the road this season, which includes the CBU series win and a four-game series sweep at Cal State San Bernardino (2/3-5) to open the campaign.
    DSU owns a 118-98 overall road record (.546) through its first 10-plus years of D-II competition with six-straight winning road marks, including a 14-7 road record last season. In 2015, DSU went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750), and DSU 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 125-106 (.541) 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 24 home runs through its first 26 games of the 2017 season, including two home runs last weekend at CBU and a season series-high six homers in the season-opening series at Cal State San Bernardino.
    The 24 home runs this season is eight more than the 16 DSU hit through 26 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 70-17 (.804) overall record in the month of March over the past four-plus seasons, including a 9-3 mark this month and a 19-2 record in March of 2014.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK....: Dixie State posted the biggest comeback in the program's NCAA-era with its 14-12 victory in game two at California Baptist last Friday night. The Trailblazers entered the eighth inning trailing 12-3, only to rally for nine eighth-inning runs, followed by a two-run ninth to clinch the win. DSU sent 14 batters to the plate in that eighth frame, seven of which reached via base hit.
    Prior to Friday's comeback win, the largest deficit Dixie State had come back from in its NCAA-era was a six-run deficit done twice, the first instance coming in a 13-12 win at NCAA Division I member Utah Valley (down 12-6) on April 21, 2007, and again at home last season in a 7-6 victory over Azusa Pacific (down 6-0; 4/16/16).

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) (.288/1HR/13RBI) started in right field in all four games at CBU and hit .231) with one double, three RBI and one run scored ... Bice is currently second in the PacWest and is fourth-nationally in sacrifice bunts (9) ... Senior Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) (.427/2HR/21RBI) started in all four games last weekend and hit .467 with one homer, five RBI and five runs scored ... Kamachi has hit safely in 11-straight and in 24 of 26 games played with 13 two-hit games (including seven-straight at one point), and currently leads the PacWest in batting (.427), hits (41) and runs scored (32) ... Senior Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) (.386/1HR/15RBI) returned to the starting lineup at CBU with two starts in LF and two at 2B ... McLaughlin batted .250 (4-for-16) with all four hits going for doubles to go with four RBI and four runs scored ... McLaughlin, DSU's career hits leader (244), leads the PacWest and is ranked 15th-nationally in doubles (11) ... Senior OF Trey Reineke (Aurora, Colo./Smoky Hill HS) (.265/2HR/6RBI) started in three games at CBU and hit .273 (3-for-11) with a double, homer and four RBI ... Reineke drove in a career-high three runs, including his second HR of the year, in game two ... freshman OF Jake Engel (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood HS) (.217/0HR/7RBI) drove in the game-tying run in the eighth inning with a single, and collected an RBI with a ninth-inning bases loaded walk in DSU's 14-12 win in G2.

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) (.385/1HR/11RBI) played in three games with two starts at CBU and hit .286 (2-for-7) with a double and run scored ... Senior SS Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) (.323/0HR/13RBI) started in all four games at CBU and batted .375 (6-for-16) with a triple, three RBI and a game-high six runs scored ...  ... Senior Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) (.414/4HR/24RBI) started all four games at CBU (2 at 2B/2 at 3B) and hit .235 (4-for-17) with one double, two RBI and three runs scored ... Mildenberg co-leads the PacWest (with Kamachi) in runs scored (32) ... 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) (.427/6HR/45RBI) batted .467 (7-for-15) in the CBU series with three doubles, three RBI and four runs scored ... Porter currently leads the PacWest and is ranked third-nationally in RBI (45) and leads the team in HR (6) ... Porter has driven in 27 of his 45 RBI over his last 12 games, while his batting average has skyrocketed nearly 150 points from .281 to .427 over this current stretch ... sophomore Wyatt Branch (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) (.292/0HR/3RBI) played in three games with two starts (both at DH) at CBU and hit .500 (4-for-8) with one RBI and three runs scored ... he had a hit in all three games played, including a two-hit outing in G3.

THE BACKSTOPS: Senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) (.230/3HR/14RBI) started games one, two and four behind the plate at CBU and collected one hit in the series, a two-run double in the opener ... Sophomore Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) (.400/2HR/10 RBI) started behind the plate in G3 at CBU and went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.

ROTATION NOTES: Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (4-0/3.07 ERA/46K) won for the fourth time in five starts with a strong outing in the opener at CBU ... File struck out eight and limited the Lancers to one unearned run and four hits in 6.2 IP ... File's ERA has dropped over eight total runs over his last five outings, while he has recorded 38 of his 46 strikeouts on the year in those five appearances ... File enters this week second all-time in career wins (16), and is second in strikeouts (164) and IP (196.0).
    Senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (5-1/4.37 ERA/31K) did not figure in the decision in his rocky game two start at CBU ... Hilty leads the PacWest and is currently ranked 13th-nationally in wins (5) ... Hilty is ranked fifth on DSU's career strikeouts list (103) ... Hilty is currently DSU's career leader in strikeouts/9 innings (7.536) and is second all-time in fewest walks/9 innings (2.04).  
    Junior LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (4-1/5.22 ERA/29K) struck out five and surrendered six hits and three runs in 3.2 innings in his game three start, but did not figure in the decision.
    Sophomore RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1/4.99 ERA/17K) bounced back with a solid start in the finale at CBU, during which he scattered three runs and nine hits in six innings with three strikeouts, but came away with a ND.

CALL TO THE PEN: DSU's bullpen went a combined 2-1 with one save in the CBU series ... the unit tied a season-high with 14 total appearances in the series spanning 12.1 total IP ... the pen combined to limit CBU to four hits and two runs with eight strikeouts over the first three games of the series (9.1 IP), before being touched up for seven runs and six hits (and seven walks) in the series finale ... senior relievers Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) and Jose Rosales-Rodarte (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) picked up both wins in the series, while senior Sean Hardman (Pleasant Grove, Utah/American Fork HS) earned a save in game three ... senior LHP Walker Williams (Grand Junction, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) worked 2.1 innings of spotless relief over three appearances with two strikeouts ... Williams is currently riding a five-inning scoreless streak spanning six total appearances and has allowed one earned run (two total) in 14 appearances (10.2 IP) on the year.

TEAM NOTES: DSU hit .324 in the four games last weekend (44-for-136) with 15 extra bases (12 2B/1 3B/2 HR) ... DSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 164-73 over the last 18 games, including a 48-22 clip in the HNU series and 35-26 at CBU ... DSU is averaging 8.5 runs and 11.3 hits per game through its first 26 games ... Dixie State enters this weekend's series LEADING THE NATION in sacrifice flies (22) and is third in sacrifice bunts (32), 16th in runs scored (222), 12th in hits (294) and 13th in batting (.343).   
    DSU's defense turned three double plays last weekend and now has 22 on the year, which is good for 14th-nationally, while DSU is ranked 22nd in the country in fielding percentage (.971) ... DSU has committed 17 errors over its last 12 games (two at CBU), 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 begins a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play 16 of their final 20 regular season games on the road, beginning with a four-game PacWest series at Fresno Pacific March 30-April 1.