Game Times (Mountain):
(G1) Sunday - 12 noon
(G2) Sunday - 3 p.m.
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | CMU
Audio/Video: None
Live Stats: vs. CMU
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #RMACbase | #D2Baseball
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Saturday (G1) – RHP Jayden Murray (3-0, 1.50 ERA) vs. RHP JR McDermott (2-0, 0.56 ERA)
Sunday (G2) – RHP Preston Hannay (1-0, 0.77 ERA) vs. RHP Garrett Hutson (1-0, 0.63 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 14 Dixie State (10-2/0-0 RMAC) wraps up its 12-game homestand this weekend with a marquee two-game, non-conference series against No. 3 Colorado Mesa (10-2) at Bruce Hurst Field. The opening game of the set will be played on Saturday at 6 p.m., followed by the homestand finale on Sunday at 12 noon. 

ALL-TIME SERIES: DSU is 14-25 all-time vs. its now Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rivals in Colorado Mesa, which includes the Mavericks claiming seven of the last eight meetings overall. Last season, CMU recorded a four-game sweep of DSU in Grand Junction, which came on the heels of the Mavericks taking three of four from the Trailblazers at Bruce Hurst Field in 2017. In fact, CMU has won 20 of the last 26 meetings between the two teams, this after DSU won eight of the first 13 games to begin the series.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers pushed their winning streak to six-straight after posting a four-game sweep of MSU Billings last weekend at Bruce Hurst Field. Dixie State slugged past the Yellowjackets in the opener last Friday, 9-5, before riding a pair of strong pitching performances in both end of a Saturday twin bill, 4-3 and 2-0. DSU then rallied from a late 8-5 deficit with a pair of runs in the eighth, and used a walk-off, three-run home run off the bat of freshman Tyson Fisher to clinch the sweep on Sunday, 10-8.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his seventh season as head coach of the Dixie State Baseball program. Since his arrival in summer of 2012, Pfatenhauer has never had a losing season at Dixie State, and in the process, led the Trailblazers to consecutive PacWest titles in 2014 and 2015, and to five-straight trips to the NCAA West Regionals from 2013-17, including serving as the host institution in 2013.
    Pfatenhauer, who picked up his 200th victory as DSU skipper in the series opener at Concordia-Irvine (8-1; 4/26/18) last season, owns a 214-108-1 (.664) overall record at DSU, and a 266-167-1 (.614) career mark.     
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is first-year pitching coach Joe Haumacher (Old Dominion, 2011), along with fifth-year assistant coaches Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015), and Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014), and first-year assistant coaches Trevor Amicone (Weber State, 2012) and former DSU infielder Tyler Mildenberg (Dixie State, 2018). 

DSU IN THE POLLS: Dixie State's 10-2 start to the 2019 campaign, and the four-game sweep of MSUB, vaulted the Trailblazers up six spots to No. 14 in this week's NCBWA Division II national poll. In addition, DSU received two first-place votes and remained at No. 3 in the latest NCBWA South Central Regional poll.

HI, MY NAME IS ....: After 11 years as a member of the Pacific West Conference, Dixie State embarks on its first season as full members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2019.
    The Trailblazers won four PacWest baseball titles (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015) over their conference membership and posted a 227-112-1 overall record (.669) in 340 league games. Dixie State also made six-straight NCAA West Regional appearances (2012-17) during its run in the PacWest.

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED THIRD IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish third in the 2019 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference baseball preseason coaches' poll released back on Jan. 24. Despite being picked third in the poll, DSU did not land any players on the preseason all-RMAC team.
    Defending RMAC regular season and tournament champion Colorado Mesa collected eight of a possible 10 first place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 80 points, while 2018 conference runner-up Colorado School of Mines tallied 69 points to finish second. Dixie State picked up the other two first place votes and 64 total points to secure the third spot, and Colorado State-Pueblo and MSU Denver each finished with 49 points to tie for fourth to round out the top-half of the 10-team poll.

AGAINST THE RMAC: Prior to its official RMAC debut at Adams State this upcoming March 8-10, Dixie State has squared off against four of the 10 baseball-playing RMAC member schools in non-conference action and played to a 19-27 (.412) overall record in 46 combined games. Out of those four schools, the Trailblazers have faced Colorado Mesa (39 times) the most of any other RMAC school and have posted a 14-25 mark against the Mavericks overall. DSU is also 4-0 vs. Colorado Christian, 1-1 vs. Colorado School of Mines and 0-1 vs. Regis.

WHAT THE BLANK: Dixie State made a little history in its season-opening win at Cal State San Bernardino (2/1) as the Trailblazers posted their first-ever "Opening Day" shutout in the 11-0 triumph.
     In fact, if you figure in the near no-no against Saint Martin's (W, 4-1) later in the day, the Trailblazer pitching staff opened the 2019 season with 16.2 innings of shutout baseball and surrendered just four total hits and one run in the two games.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State has played to a 249-93 (.728) overall record inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07. In addition, DSU has posted a winning record at home in all 12 seasons of NCAA play, which included a 17-9 home mark last season.
    Dixie State has won 20 or more games in seven of those 12 seasons, including 21-5 (.807) record in 2017, and a 24-6 mark (.800) in 2016, which was the second-best home record in terms of wins in the program's NCAA Division II era (26-7 in 2009). The 24 home wins that year were the most under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, while the .807 winning percentage in 2017 was the best during the Pfatenhauer era.
    In PacWest play, DSU was 126-44 (.741) all-time at Bruce Hurst Field and won 10 or more games in each of those 10 seasons, including 13 league wins last year and 14 victories in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Despite finishing with an 8-16 road record in 2018, Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers own a 136-120-1 overall road record (.531) through 12-plus years of D-II competition, which includes a winning road record in seven of their last eight seasons overall, highlighted by a 16-7-1 road mark in 2017. The 16 road wins were the most in program history since its move to NCAA play in 2007.
    In 2015, DSU went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750), and DSU has won at least 10 road games in eight of it last nine seasons overall. When you also figure in neutral-site games (10-10 in 20 games), Dixie State is 146-130-1 (.529) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
    In PacWest play, Dixie State was 99-65-1 (.603) in true road games and 0-1 in one neutral-site game vs. Hawai'i Hilo during the 2013 season, which was played in Riverside, Calif., (at California Baptist) as a make-up game due to a rain out on the Islands earlier that season.

JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State's 25-25 record last season marked the end of an impressive streak that saw DSU win 30 or more games in nine-straight seasons. In fact, DSU had won 35 of more games in four of those campaigns, including three of the last four years under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, highlighted by 39 wins in 2017 and a four-year program record 40 victories (40-14) in 2016, The 2016 campaign also included a record-breaking 10-0 start to begin the season, which was the best overall start in the program's NCAA-era.
    DSU is 395-223-1 (.639) through 12-plus years of NCAA Division II competition (619 games). The Trailblazers won its 300th game as a four-year program in the second game of a doubleheader at Holy Names (3/18/16).

WALK IT OFF: The Trailblazers collected their first walk-off win of the year in Sunday's finale vs. Montana State Billings. Last season, Dixie State posted a school-record eight walk-off wins, including three last at-bat triumphs over California Baptist to close the 2018 campaign in the final PacWest series for both teams, the last of which also came on a walk-off home run.

FREE BASEBALL: Dixie State played in four extra inning games last season and posted a 3-1 record. Dating back to the 2016 season, the Trailblazers have won five of their last six extra inning games overall, and are 31-14 (.682) in 45 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era.

IN THE "K" ZONE: Dixie State pitchers set an NCAA-era school record with 18 strikeouts in the 4-1 win over Saint Martin's back on Feb. 1. Sophomore lefthander Jack Gonzales set the tone from the get-go as he recorded a career-high seven Ks over 4.0 hitless innings in his first collegiate start, while junior RHP Colton Harris followed suit with seven strikeouts of his own over 2.2 innings of relief in his DSU debut.
    In all, four of the five DSU hurlers in the game had at least one strikeout, including junior closer Brayden Bonner striking out the side in the ninth to earn his first collegiate save.
    DSU eclipsed the previous school record of 16 set at Academy of Art (2/26/11) in a game highlighted by former DSU pitcher Mike Dedrick, who set a single-game player record with 15 punch outs over 8.0 IP.  
    Of the 108 total outs Dixie State recorded during the Blazers' opening weekend, 44 (11.0 kpg) of them were on strikes, including 12 total Ks at CSUSB, and seven strikeouts in both ends of the SMU of doubleheader (2/3).

NEAR NO-NO: Dixie State also came within four outs of its first nine-inning no-hitter in program history in that 4-1 win over Saint Martin's (2/1). Four DSU pitchers had combined to surrender just four walks and one HBP through seven-complete before SMU broke through with a clean infield single with two outs in the home eighth.
    DSU has had only one no-hitter in the program's four-year era, which came off the arm of former hurler John Conquy in a 1-0, seven-inning win at Fresno Pacific on April 3, 2015.

TEAM NOTES
* - Senior RHP Jayden Murray won his third-straight start to begin the season in last Friday's opener vs. MSUB ... After surrendering four unearned runs in the second inning, Murray limited MSUB to one run and four hits over his final four innings of work ... Murray wound up with six strikeouts and allowed five runs (one earned) and seven hits over six complete .. Murray was named RMAC Pitcher of the Week (2/4) after he fanned a career-high tying eight and gave up just one hit in five shutout innings in DSU's 11-0 win over CSUSB (2/1) ... Murray, who will start the opener vs. CMU, has struck out 19 in 18.0 IP and owns a 1.50 ERA.
* - Junior closer Brayden Bonner has bolted out of the gate with five saves and one win in six appearances out of the Blazer bullpen, including saves in both DSU wins in last Saturday's DH vs. MSUB ... the righthander has struck out 10 and given up just seven hits and one unearned run in 6.2 IP overall ... Bonner's five saves already ranks him ninth on DSU's NCAA-era career saves list.
* - Junior reliever Colton Harris (2-0/0.00 ERA/14 K) picked up his second win of the season out of the DSU bullpen in the finale vs. MSUB after he pitched 1.1 innings of spotless relief with three strikeouts ... Harris also hurled two innings of one-hit relief with three punch outs in the MSUB series opener.
* - After missing the entire 2018 season due to injury, junior RHP Preston Hannay (1-0/0.77 ERA) enjoyed his best overall outing of his collegiate career in seven-inning nightcap vs. MSUB last Saturday as he fired 6.2 innings of four-hit shutout baseball with four strikeouts earn his first win of the year ... Hannay, who is slated to start G2 vs. CMU on Sunday, carried a two-hitter into the seventh inning, but his bid for the CG ShO came up just short thanks to a pair of two-out MSUB hits.
* - Sophomore LHP Jack Gonzales (2-0/4.26 ERA/10 K) picked up his second win of the season in G2 vs. MSUB, during which he scattered two runs and four hits over 5.2 IP with one strikeout.
* - Freshman 3B Tyson Fisher (.375/2 HR/7 RBI) had himself quite the coming-out party over the weekend as he hit a combined .400 (6-for-15) with two HR, five RBI and three runs scored in the MSUB sweep ... Fisher clubbed his first collegiate homer as part of a 3-for-4 day with two RBI and a run scored in the opener ... then after being held hitless in Saturday's twin bill, he came back with three more hits in the finale Sunday, highlighted by the one-out, walk-off 3-run HR.
* - Junior 1B Jake Engel continues to swing a hot bat as he hit .429 with three, three doubles, one homer and five RBI in the MSUB series ... Engel also extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games and posted an .857 SLG% with four runs scored ... Engel, who came into the 2019 season with two career HRs, has already hit four of DSU's 10 homers through 12 games this year, and he currently leads the team with 17 total hits and 11 RBI to go with a .415 average.
* - Junior C Cade Spurlin (.500/2 HR/7 RBI) posted another solid series last weekend as he hit .385 (5-for-13) with a double, HR and three RBI ... Spurlin has hit safely in five of his last six games and is batting .555 over that stretch with four multi-hit games.  
* - Sophomore SS Alec Flemetakis (.342/6 RBI) hit a team-high .545 (6-for-11) with two RBI, two runs scored and was 2-for-2 in SB attempts.
* - Junior RF Lane Pritchard has been a run-scoring machine for the Trailblazers as hit crossed home plate six times in the MSUB series and leads the team with 15 runs scored in 12 starts ... Pritchard hit .364 vs. MSUB (4-for-11), which included a fourth-inning RBI-triple that broke a scoreless tie in game three.  
* - Dixie State's series sweep of MSUB was the Trailblazers' first four-game sweep since recording a road sweep of Hawai'i Hilo during the 2017 season (4/25-26/17), and was the first four-game home sweep since DSU won all four games vs. Academy of Art, also during the 2017 campaign (4/6-8).
* - DSU batted around in the second inning of game one vs. MSUB, a feat that had not happened since DSU sent nine batters to the plate in game three vs. Hawai'i Hilo last season (3/31).  
* - Through 12 games this season, DSU is averaging 7.3 runs and 9.7 hits per game with a .300 team batting average ... DSU hit a combined .298 against MSUB with 11 XBH, including six doubles, four HRs and one triple ... DSU enters this week 19-for-25 in the stolen base department, which includes a 5-for-6 clip last week vs. MSUB.
* - Meanwhile the Trailblazer pitching staff saw its team ERA dip to 3.48 heading into this weekend's series vs. CMU ... DSU pitchers combined to limit MSUB to a .242 average and posted a 2.91 ERA over the four game set ... DSU pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .212 average through 12 games this season overall and have combined for 107 strikeouts in 106.0 IP.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State makes is RMAC debut next weekend as the Trailblazers travel to Alamosa, Colo., for a four-game series at Adams State March 8-10.