Despite putting up a late-inning rally, Dixie State dropped the opening game of its eight-game Bay Area road trip at Academy of Art, 4-3, Saturday night at Laney College. The loss snapped the Trailblazers' 14-game winning streak vs. the Urban Knights as DSU fell to 6-13 overall, 2-7 in Pacific West Conference play.

AAU (9-9/4-5 PacWest) broke open a scoreless game with two runs in the fourth inning and another in the fifth en route to a 3-0 lead through five complete. DSU starter Jayden Murray (Vernal, Utah/Uintah HS) had retired 10 of the first 13 Urban Knights he faced until Evan Ray squared up a 1-0 pitch for a out-out solo home run to put AAU on the board. AAU tacked on another run on a two-out Robert Villanueva single and padded its lead with a fifth-inning Jackson Murphy run-scoring hit.

Meanwhile the DSU offense was limited to just three hits over its first six innings, all of which were lead off singles in each of the first three innings, but the Trailblazers could not cash in early chances. However Dixie State did manage to break through with two runs in the seventh to trim the deficit to 3-2.

Kade Urban led off the frame with a walk, then following Bryce Feist (Emmett, Idaho/Rocky Mountain HS) one-out double, AAU starter Luke Lacey (W, 1-3) balked home Urban to put DSU on the board. Feist would later scamper home on a Lacey wild pitch to draw Dixie State to within a run.

Academy of Art added an insurance run in the home seventh, but Dixie State got that run back one inning later on a Logan Porter (Surprise, Ariz./Valley Vista HS) sacrifice fly. However that would be as close as DSU would get as two Urban Knight relievers combined to retire four of the final five Trailblazer hitters to close out the win.

Dixie State was limited to six hits in the series opener, with Feist and Gabe Taylor (Pittsburg, Calif./Clayton Valley Charter School) each collecting two safeties. Murray (L, 1-3) struck out three and scattered five hits and three runs over 4.2 innings of work in a losing effort.

The two teams will continue their four-game series with a Sunday doubleheader beginning at 12 noon (PT).