Dixie State won for the fourth time in five games to open the 2019 season as the Trailblazers posted a 3-2 triumph over Northwest Nazarene in a pitcher's duel Thursday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field.

Tied at 2-2 with one out in the sixth, junior first baseman Jake Engel put the Trailblazers (4-1) on top for good with his second home run of the season. Engel fell behind 0-2 in the count, but drove the next Blake McFadden (L, 0-1) pitch he saw over the wall to near straight-away center field to give DSU its one-run lead.

Senior righthander Jayden Murray (W, 2-0) twirled another gem as he limited the Nighthawks (0-1) to just two runs and three hits over seven innings. Murray struck out five and retired the last 11 NNU hitters he faced.

Northwest Nazarene did have chance to tie or take the lead in the eighth as the Nighthawks loaded the bases on a pair of walks and one-out infield error. However sophomore reliever Jimmy Borzone struck out the next two NNU he faced to escape the frame without surrendering the lead. Junior Brayden Bonner (S, 2) then came on and pitched a spotless ninth with two strikeouts to close out the win.

Dixie State will play a split doubleheader at Bruce Hurst Field Friday, beginning with a second game against NNU at 11:30 a.m., followed by a match-up vs. Cal State LA at 3:30 p.m.