No. 13 Dixie State wrapped up the first leg of its eight-game Pacific West Conference Hawaiian road trip with a win and the program's first-ever tie in NCAA play at Hawai'i Pacific Sunday afternoon at Hans L'Orange Park. The DSU/HPU series was originally slated for Friday and Saturday, but rain Friday forced the series to shift to a Saturday/Sunday schedule.

The Trailblazers (31-10-1/20-7-1 PacWest), who went 2-1-1 in the four-game set vs. HPU, got seven strong innings from junior southpaw Matt Mosca (Las Vegas, Nev./Cimarron Memorial HS) to take the opener, 5-2. However DSU could not hold on to a late two-run advantage as the series finale was called after five innings with the score knotted at 8-8 due to a travel curfew to allow DSU to make its flight to Hilo for another series later this week.

In the first game, the Trailblazers struck for single runs in each of the three middle innings en route to a 3-1 lead. DSU manufactured its first run in the fourth as Miles Bice (Henderson, Nev./Coronado HS) drove in Logan Porter (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS), who singled and advanced to third on a Tyler Mildenberg (Huntington Beach, Calif./Marina HS) hit and Jake Davison (Taylorsville, Utah/Taylorsville HS) sacrifice.

Dixie State then took the lead one inning later when Wyatt Branch (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) reached on a lead-off single, made his way around to third on consecutive passed balls, and scored on a Tyler Baker (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) fielder's choice groundout. Bice then collected his second RBI of the game with a single in the sixth to bring home Mildenberg, who reached on a Shark error to open that frame.

Mosca (W, 6-1) kept the Sharks (17-28-1/7-26-1 PacWest) at bay as he limited HPU to just one run and three hits over his first six innings of work. HPU would pull to within a run at 3-2 in the seventh when Keola Himan connected for a one-out single to drive in Froy Smith, who doubled to lead off the frame. However Mosca would escape further damage as he set down the next two Sharks he faced to end the inning.

DSU then put the game out of reach in the ninth as Trey Kamachi (Kapolei, Hawai'i/Kapolei HS) and Mildenberg each came through with clutch RBI-hits that gave the Trailblazers a three-run cushion. Senior Tyler Burdett (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) (S, 4) would work around a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth to close out the win.

Dixie State outhit HPU 13-7 in the opener, which included a 3-for-3 effort with a run scored for Drew McLaughlin (Scottsdale, Ariz./Desert Mountain HS), while Kamachi and Mildenberg finished with two hits apiece. Mosca fanned five in seven innings to win his third-straight decision.

Hawai'i Pacific looked as if it would secure a series split in the early going of the nightcap as the Sharks used a five-run second inning to race out to a 6-1 advantage. However Dixie State had other ideas as the Trailblazers answered with a five-run frame of their own in the third to tie the game at 6-6.

DSU pounded out six hits in the rally, which included a Porter RBI-single and a two-run double off the bat of Jerome Hill II (Pittsburg, Calif./Pittsburg HS), which chased HPU ace Tyler Van Stone (ND). The Trailblazers kept the momentum going through the pitching change as Bice greeted Shark reliever Jordan Knoll with a single, which was followed by a Reece Lucero (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) base hit up the middle to plate Hill II, and McLaughlin capped the rally with a bounding ball through the left side to drive in Bice.

Dixie State struck again for two more runs in the fourth as Kamachi reached on a lead-off walk, stole second, and scored on a Mildenberg triple. Hill II followed that with an infield single to drive in Mildenberg to stake the Trailblazers to an 8-6 lead.

HPU got one of the runs back in the home half of the fourth, then Shark infielder Mitchell Bumann tied the game with a lead-off home run in the fifth. Dixie State managed to escape the frame with the tie intact, but the game was called after the third out was recorded (5:05 p.m. local time).

DSU rapped out 12 hits in the finale, including three more base knocks for McLaughlin, while Hill II went 3-for-3 with a career-high three RBI in his first start of the year after missing most of the season due to injury.

DSU will continue its Hawaiian road swing this Tuesday and Wednesday with a four-game set at Hawai'i Hilo.