Game Times (Mountain):
Thursday - 7 p.m.
Friday (DH) - 3 p.m.
Saturday - 12 noon
Game Notes: (DIXIE STATE - PDF) | FPU
Audio/Video: portal.stretchinternet.com/fpu
Live Stats: portal.stretchinternet.com/fpu
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #PacWestBASE | #d2bsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Thursday (G1) – RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (5-0, 2.55 ERA) vs. RHP Trent Ashford (1-5, 4.98 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (6-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. RHP Jonathan Molina (0-1, 5.95 ERA)
Friday (G3) – LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (4-1, 4.72 ERA) vs. RHP Josue Mendivil (1-1, 4.68 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1, 4.42 ERA) vs. RHP Nic Boatman (1-2, 4.85 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 7 Dixie State (24-6/13-3 PacWest) begins a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play 16 of their final 20 regular season games on the road, starting with a four-game Pacific West Conference series at Fresno Pacific (8-12/5-7 PacWest) this weekend.  
    Thursday's series opener will begin at 6 p.m. (PT), followed by a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m. (PT), and Saturday's series finale will start at 11 a.m. (PT). All four games will be played at the FPU Diamond in Fresno, Calif.
    DSU enters play this weekend in second place in the PacWest standings behind No. 2 Azusa Pacific (23-3/10-2 PacWest), which has only played in three conference series, while DSU has played in four league series overall.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State owns a 12-4 edge in its series vs. Fresno Pacific and has won eight-straight and 11 of the last 12 meetings overall, including a four-game sweep last season at Bruce Hurst Field, and another four-game sweep the last time the two sides met in Fresno in 2015.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State posted its second four-game sweep of the 2017 season, and the first in PacWest play, as the Trailblazers took all four games from then-conference leader Point Loma last weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) became DSU's career shutouts leader as he blanked PLNU on four hits in a 7-0 series-opening win, which was followed by a strong seven-inning outing by senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) in the Trailblazers' 11-3 win in game two. DSU then posted a pair of come-from-behind victories in a Saturday twin bill to sweep away the Sea Lions, including a 10-4 win in game three and an 8-7 walk-off victory in nine innings in the finale as junior C/DH Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) capped a four-run rally with an RBI-single to win the game.

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 164-73 (.692) overall record at DSU, including a 112-40 (.737) record in PacWest play, and a 216-132 (.620) 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, two spots below fellow PacWest member Azusa Pacific (No. 2) and one spot ahead of California Baptist (tied for No. 5). In all, four PacWest teams are ranked in the top-10 regionally, including Point Loma at No. 7.
    Dixie State is also ranked in the top-10 in three of the four national polls this week, including No. 2 in the D2 Baseball News poll (3/27), No. 4 in the latest Perfect Game D-II poll (3/29) and No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll (3/27). Meanwhile, despite sweeping then No. 25 PLNU last weekend, the Trailblazers fell two spots from t-19th to No. 21 in the NCBWA poll (3/29).

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.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State has played to a 220-82 (.728) overall record inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, which includes the Trailblazers' 11-3 win in the 300th D-II home game last Friday vs. PLNU, and a 17-5 overall mark this year after the PLNU sweep.  
    Thanks to the Point Loma sweep, DSU has now posted a winning record at home in all 11 seasons of NCAA play. Dixie State has won 20 or more games in six of those 11 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.

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 25 home runs through its first 30 games of the 2017 season, including one home run last weekend vs. PLNU and a season series-high six homers in the season-opening series at Cal State San Bernardino.
    The 25 home runs this season is four more than the 21 DSU hit through 30 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 74-17 (.813) overall record in the month of March over the past four-plus seasons, including a 13-3 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 this past March 17. 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 that comeback win, the largest deficit Dixie State had overcome 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).
    Then not to be outdone, Dixie State scored seven runs in the eighth inning of game three vs. Point Loma last Saturday en route to the 10-4 win, then tallied four runs in the ninth inning of the PLNU series finale to erase a three-run deficit to walk off with the 8-7 win and a series sweep.

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 RF Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) (.316/1HR/15RBI) enjoyed a bounce-back series vs. PLNU as he hit .467 (7-for-15) in four starts with one double, two RBI and three runs scored ... Bice, who is riding a six-game hitting streak, is currently second in the PacWest and is fifth-nationally in sacrifice bunts (9) ... Senior CF Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) (.427/2HR/21RBI) started in all four games last weekend vs. PLNU and hit an even .500 (8-for-16) with one triple, five RBI and five runs scored ... Kamachi has hit safely in 15-straight and in 28 of 30 games played with 15 two-hit games (including seven-straight at one point), and currently leads the PacWest in hits (49) and runs (37- 19th nationally) and is second in the league in batting (.438) ... Senior Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS) (.419/1HR/15RBI) started in three games in LF and at 2B in the finale vs. PLNU ... McLaughlin, who has hit in seven-straight, batted .563 (9-for-16) with three doubles and five runs scored ... seven of McLaughlin's last 13 hits have gone for doubles, and DSU's career hits leader (253) currently leads the PacWest and is ranked sixth-nationally in doubles (14).

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) (.373/1HR/15RBI) started in the first three games of the PLNU series and hit .300 (3-for-10) with one double, four RBI and two runs scored ... Senior SS Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) (.316/0HR/16RBI) started in all four games vs. PLNU and batted .278 (5-for-18) with one double, three RBI and a team-high six runs scored, which marked the second-straight series he collected six runs scored ... Senior Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) (.413/4HR/29RBI) started all four games vs. Point Loma (3 at 2B/1 at 3B) and hit .412 (7-for-17) with one triple, five RBI and five runs scored ... Mildenberg connected for three hits in each of the first two games vs. PLNU ... Mildenberg co-leads the PacWest (with Kamachi) in runs scored (37 - 19th nationally) ... Mildenberg became the first DSU player in nearly eight seasons to collect five hits in a 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) (.419/7HR/51RBI) batted .375 (6-for-16) in four starts in the PLNU series and connected for his team-leading seventh HR of the year in game three and finished with a team-high six RBI in the series ... Porter currently leads the PacWest and is ranked second-nationally in RBI (51) ... Porter has driven in 33 of his 51 RBI over his last 16 games, while his batting average has skyrocketed nearly 140 points from .281 to .419 over this current stretch ... Porter has reached base safely in 27-straight games and in 29 of 30 games played this season overall.

THE BACKSTOPS: Senior catcher Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) (.256/3HR/16RBI) started games two and four behind the plate vs. PLNU and batted an even .500 (4-for-8) with two doubles, one RBI and two runs scored in those starts ... also drew a pinch hit RBI-walk and had one run scored in DSU's seven-run eighth inning in G2 ... Sophomore Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) (.386/2HR/13 RBI) started in games one and three behind the plate, and was the starting DH in the finale, vs. PLNU and went a combined 6-for-17 (.353) with three RBI and three runs scored ... drove in the GW run with a walk-off single in the series finale, which capped a four-run ninth inning ... Davidson is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak and he has reached base safely in 12-straight games overall.

ROTATION NOTES: Junior RHP Dylan File (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) (5-0/2.55 ERA/46K) won for the fifth time in six starts as he fired a four-hit complete game ShO in the opener vs. PLNU ... After escaping a first-inning jam, File retired 20 of the next 22 Sea Lions he faced, including 13-straight at one point ... It was File's second CG ShO of the season and third of his career, which moved him atop DSU's career solo shutouts list, while it was his fifth career CG overall (t-3rd all-time) ... File's ERA has dropped nearly nine total runs over his last six outings, while he has recorded 39 of his 47 strikeouts on the year in those six appearances and owns a 0.62 ERA over this current stretch, having given up on three earned runs over his last 43.1 IP ... In PacWest play, File is 3-0 with a 0.61 ERA in four starts and has struck out 24 in 29.1 IP.  
    Senior RHP Mason Hilty (Richland, Wash./Richland HS) (6-1/4.30 ERA/36K) bounced back with a solid outing in game two vs. PLNU ... Hilty fanned five with no walks and scattered seven hits and three runs over seven innings to earn his PacWest-leading sixth win of the year ... Hilty leads the PacWest and is currently ranked 13th-nationally in wins (6) ... Hilty also moved up to fourth on DSU's career strikeouts list (108).
    Sophomore RHP Preston Hannay (Murray, Utah/Murray HS) (2-1/4.42 ERA/18K) started in game three vs. PLNU, but did not figure in the winning decision ... Hannay surrendered four runs (one earned) and seven hits with one strikeout in six innings ... Hannay held PLNU hitless over his final three innings of work.
    Junior LHP Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) (4-1/4.72 ERA/33K) started the finale vs. PLNU and limited the Sea Lions to one earned run (two total) and seven hits over his five innings, but did not figure into the decision.

CALL TO THE PEN: DSU's bullpen collected both wins in last Saturday's final twin bill vs. Point Loma, with senior RHP Jose Rosales-Rodarte (Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley HS) (2-0) earning his second win of the year in the first game (G3), and junior RHP Tanner Howell (Boulder City, Nev./Boulder City HS) (1-1) won his first decision of the year in the finale ... overall the bullpen pitched a combined 9.0 innings (in eight appearances) and held PLNU to five hits, four walks and three earned runs (five total) with seven strikeouts.

TEAM NOTES: DSU hit .390 in the four games vs. PLNU last weekend (55-for-141) with 11 extra bases (8 2B/2 3B/1 HR) ... DSU has outscored its opponents by a combined 200-103 over the last 22 games, including a 48-22 clip in the HNU series and 36-14 vs. PLNU ... DSU is averaging 8.6 runs and 11.6 hits per game through 30 games this season ... Dixie State enters this weekend's series second in the nation in sacrifice flies (24) and sacrifice bunts (38), eighth in batting (.350), ninth in hits (349), 12th in runs scored (258), and 15th-nationally in doubles (67).
    DSU's pitching staff posted a combined 2.00 ERA in the PLNU series and held the Sea Lions to a collective .217 batting average (30-for-138).
    DSU's defense turned two double plays last weekend and now has 24 on the year, which is good for 23rd-nationally, while DSU is ranked 31st in the country in fielding percentage (.969) ... DSU has committed 25 errors over its last 16 games (eight vs. PLNU), this after just three total errors overall a six-game stretch to close February, including just one miscue in the MSUB series (.991 FLD%).
    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 ... DSU picked up its first extra-inning win of 2017 in the Point Loma finale, which moved DSU to 27-13 (.675) all-time in 40 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State closes out its 2017 home regular season schedule with a four-game series vs. Academy of Art next weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. Thursday's series opener will begin at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m., and Saturday's finale will start at 12 noon. Saturday's finale will also serve as Senior Day as 14 Trailblazers will play in their final regular season home game.