Game Times (Mountain):
(G1) Thursday - 6 p.m.
(G2) Friday - 4 p.m.
(G3) Friday - 7 p.m.
(G4) Saturday - 12 noon
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | REGIS
Audio/Video: LIVE VIDEO HERE
Live Stats: vs. Regis
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #RMACbase | #D2Baseball
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Thursday (G1) – RHP Brayden Bonner (2-1, 2.53 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Isbell (1-2, 5.23 ERA)
Friday (G2) – RHP Jayden Murray (7-2, 3.47 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Kleinsorge (0-5, 7.91 ERA)
Friday (G3) – LHP Jack Gonzales (5-2, 5.87 ERA) vs. RHP Brayden Brooks (3-2, 4.29 ERA)
Saturday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (4-3, 6.92 ERA) vs. RHP Colin King (1-3, 5.21 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (25-13/15-9 RMAC) kicks off an eight-game homestand this Easter weekend with a four-game series vs. Regis (12-25/7-17 RMAC) at Bruce Hurst Field. The series opener will be played on Thursday night at 6 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 4 p.m., and Saturday's finale will take place at 12 noon.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State and Regis have met on the diamond just one other time, that coming during DSU's first season of NCAA play in 2007, when the Rangers posted a 15-12 win over the then-Rebels in Denver on April 10, 2007.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers closed out their longest road swing of the 2019 season with a 3-5 mark after splitting a four-game series at MSU Denver last weekend. DSU claimed victories in both nine innings games, 9-8 in Friday's opener and 10-1 in Sunday's finale, while MSUD swept Dixie State in a Saturday double-dip, 14-3 and 4-1. 

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 229-119-1 (.657) overall record at DSU, and a 281-178-1 (.612) 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 did not receive any votes this week in either the NCBWA Top-25 and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national polls. The Trailblazers also fell one spot to No. 9 in this week's NCBWA South Central Regional rankings.

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.

RMAC RACE STARTING TO TIGHTEN UP: With three weeks to go in the RMAC regular season, Dixie State stands in a two-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings with Colorado-Colorado Springs at 15-9, four games back of the pace set by No. 1 ranked Colorado Mesa at 19-5. MSU Denver is one game back of CMU in second place at 18-6, followed by No. 29 Colorado School of Mines in third at 17-7.
    The top-six teams in the conference standings will advance on to the 2019 RMAC Tournament, which will be held May 8-11, at the home ballpark of the regular season champion. The winner of the RMAC Tournament will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA South Central Regionals.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State has played to a 255-97 (.724) overall record inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, including a 14-6 start this season. 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 going 3-5 on its recent road swing, Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers own a 145-127-1 overall road record (.533) through 12-plus years of D-II competition, which includes a 10-7 mark this season. DSU has posted 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 155-137-1 (.530) 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.

HERE'S TO THE NEXT 400: Dixie State picked up its 400th win in the program's NCAA era in the series opener vs. UCCS on March 16. DSU is 410-234-1 (.636) all-time through 12-plus years of NCAA Division II competition (645 games).

THE X(BH)-MEN: Dixie State pounded out 39 extra base hits (out of the 68 total base hits) in the series sweep at Adams State in its RMAC debut last month, which included school records for doubles (9), home runs (7), XHB (17), along with total hits (28), in the series finale. DSU wound up with 22 doubles and five triples, and posted an .866 SLG%, in the four game set.
    The Trailblazers followed that up with 16 XBH vs. UCCS (3/16-18), and 22 more XBH at NMHU, which included 15 doubles and six home runs. Dixie State also collected 13 XBH vs. CSUP (3/29-31) with nine doubles, one triple and three HRs, and 13 more XBH (13 doubles, two HR) at Mines (4/5-8).

ENGEL NAMED TO D2BASEBALL TEAM OF THE MONTH: Junior 1B/OF Jake Engel was named to the D2Baseball Team of the Month for March last week. Engel was one of two RMAC players represented on the 11-player list (MSUD catcher Matt Malkin).
    The junior batted .407 in 18 games last month with eight home runs, 26 RBI, 27 runs scored and three stolen bases. Engel pounded out 12 XBH (.526 SLG%), including homering in three-straight games (G 3/4 at NMHU and G1 vs. CSUP) and drew 15 of his team-high 26 walks (.915 OB%), which culminated with him being named RMAC Player of the Week after the CSU-Pueblo series (3/29-31).  
    Engel batted .545 (6-for-11) in four starts vs. CSUP with one double, team-highs of two home runs, six walks and 11 RBI, and seven runs scored in the Trailblazers' series split. He reached base safely and had at least two RBI and one run scored in all four games, highlighted by a career-high five RBI day with a double and his team-leading 12th home run of the season in the series finale. Engel pounded out a career-high four hits in that final game, going 4-for-5 overall with two runs scored.
    The junior opened the 2019 season on a tear, hitting safely in 31 of his first 38 games on his way to a team-best .415 average. Engel has hit safely in 20 of 24 RMAC games, including a .429 average (6-for-14) at MSUD, and a .438 clip (7-for-16) at Mines (4/5-7) with his second-career four-hit game in G3. Engel is batting .437 against conference foes (35-for-80) overall with two triples, seven HRs and 29 RBI.
    Engel, who came into the 2019 season with two career HRs, has already collected 22 XBH through 38 games (7 2B/3 3B/12 HR), and he is in the top-four in the RMAC in average (2nd), runs scored (4th), triples (T-6th), homers (4th), RBI (T-2nd), SLG% (3rd), walks (3rd) and OB% (1st).

FISHER LANDS DSU'S FIRST CYCLE: Freshman 3B Tyson Fisher (.405/6 HR/32 RBI) became the first player in the program's NCAA era to hit for the cycle in the series finale at NMHU on March 24. Fisher pounded out a career-high five hits (5-for-5) in the game to go with career-highs of five RBI and four runs scored.
    Overall, Fisher hit a team-best .625 (10-for-16) in the NMHU series with six XBH, seven RBI and eight runs scored. In fact, he has legged out 20 XBH in 23 RMAC games (13 2B/3 3B/4 HR), including his sixth HR of the year in G3 vs. CSUP (3/30), and legged out four doubles in the Mines series (4/5-7).
    Fisher is batting .435 (37-for-85) in league play, and he currently second on the team in batting at .405 (No. 6 in RMAC) and first in XBH (23 - 14 2B/3 3B/6 HR) to go with 32 RBI.

IT'S UP THERE, IT'S OUT THERE, IT'S GONE!!: We are 38 games into the 2019 regular season and Dixie State has eclipsed last season's home run total (24 in 50 games) with 42 long balls (T-4th all-time on single season list) to this point of the year, with 13 of those homers coming over the last 16 games and 31 total HRs through 24 RMAC games overall.
     Junior OF Lane Pritchard has homered in three of his last eight starts, including a lead-off home run on the first pitch thrown in the MSUD series last Friday. Pritchard also accounted for both DSU homers in the Mines series, while his first HR of the year came on the back end of a back-to-back with Engel in the finale at NMHU (7th inning; 3/24), which marked the second time this season that DSU achieved that feat. In the series finale vs. UCCS (3/18), junior Cade Spurlin and Engel led off the sixth with consecutive HRs, which was the first time since the 2016 season that DSU had hit back-to-back homers in an inning (Jake Davison/Tyler Mildenberg vs. Hawai'i Pacific, 4/23/16).
    The Trailblazers hit 12 home runs at Adams State in their RMAC debut last month, with eight different Trailblazers hit at least one HR in the series, highlighted by a school record four-homer game from senior OF Brody Clifford in the series finale (3/10), which included two solo HRs, a three-run shot and a grand slam en route to a school record-tying nine RBI.
    The first of Clifford's record four home runs was a lead-off shot on the second pitch of the game, which marked first time since the 2016 season that a Trailblazer led off a game with a HR (Tanner Morache at Point Loma; 4/8/16).
    In addition, Jake Brown, Clifford and Braxton Ipson all homered in the fifth inning in that series finale, which marked just the third time in the program's NCAA era that DSU had three players homer in one inning. In 2007, Jesse Stone, Kyle Pratt and Jordan Daley all homered in the first inning in a win over Northwest Nazarene (3/20/07), while Jordan Hanley, Jimmy Dever and Alex Rosenhan achieved the feat in the ninth inning vs. Lewis-Clark State (5/2/09) two seasons later.  
    Of note, DSU's NCAA-era record for homers in a season is 68 set in 2009.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: In all, the Trailblazers combined to break or tie a total of 16 single-game records in the finale at Adams State (3/10), including new team records for HR (7), RBI (27), at-bats (52) and total bases (60). In addition, DSU's 28 runs scored and its 19-run margin of victory tied the single game records for both set, coincidentally, in another 28-9 victory nearly 10 full seasons ago at home vs. Hawai'i Hilo (3/28/09). Meanwhile, the 37 combined runs scored were tied for second-most in the program's NCAA era.
    DSU also combined to score 68 total runs in the four-game set, which eclipsed the previous record of 52 set nearly 10 years ago to the weekend in a four-game sweep of Academy of Art (3/16-17/09). Clifford and Fisher led the Blazers with nine runs scored apiece, while seven DSU base runners collected at least five runs scored overall in the series.

TEAM NOTES
* - Pritchard (.358/4 HR/21 RBI) has been a run-scoring machine for the Trailblazers as he has crossed home plate 38 times over his last 30 games, including a team-high eight runs scored in the CSUP series (3/29-31) and six more runs at Mines (4/5-7) ... Pritchard's team-leading 47 runs scored currently ranks him third in the RMAC.
* - Junior C Cade Spurlin (.392/6 HR/29 RBI) had a night in the series opener at MSUD as he went 3-for-4 with a homer and a career-high five RBI in the come-from-behind win ... four of Spurlin's five RBI came after DSU fell behind 8-4 after five complete, including a three-run HR in the sixth inning and a game-tying single in the eighth.
* - Spurlin has hit safely in eight of his last nine games and in 24 of his last 31 outings overall and is batting an even .400 with 11 multi-hit games over that current stretch ... the junior is hitting at a .385 (27-for-70) clip in RMAC play this season (23 games) and has driven in 22 of his 29 RBI and hit four of his six HRs on the season against league opponents.
* - Sophomore 2B Tyler Hollow (.351/1 HR/37 RBI) posted a team-high .667 average (6-for-9) with two base hits in each of his three starts at MSUD last weekend, which included the team's lone double and three RBI ... Hollow is currently second on the team with 37 RBI ... sophomore INF Alec Flemetakis returned to the line-up at MSUD after missing the last 12 games due to injury ... Flemetakis got the start in the finale at MSUD and promptly went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI-singles in the early innings to help lead DSU to the series split.  
* - Junior closer Brayden Bonner (2-1/2.53 ERA/27 K) made two appearances in the MSUD series, including his first start of the year in G2 last Saturday ... Bonner collected his RMAC-leading eighth save of the year in the series opener Friday night, then worked 3.2 innings in suffering the loss in G2, during which he surrendered five hits and six runs, though only one of those runs was earned due to a pair of DSU errors ... Bonner is slated to start the series opener Thursday vs. Regis ... Bonner's eight saves ranks him t-eighth on DSU's NCAA-era single season and career saves lists.
* - Senior RHP Jayden Murray (7-2/2.91 ERA/60 K) won for the seventh time in nine starts in the opener at Mines (4/5) as he punched out six and scattered three runs and five hits in 5.0 IP in DSU's 11-7 win ... Murray did not figure into the decision in the opener at MSUD after he went 4.1 and was touched up for 10 hits and six runs (five earned) with four strikeouts.
* - Murray has struck out seven or more batters in four of his last six starts, including eight Ks vs. CSUP (3/29), and eight strikeouts in a complete-game five-hitter in the series-opener vs. UCCS (3/16) ... Murray's 9IP CG was the first by a DSU pitcher since former Blazer southpaw Matt Mosca went the distance on the road at Concordia-Irvine (W, 8-1, 4/26/18), and it was the first at home since former Blazer RHP Mason Hilty (11-0/4/7/17) posted a complete-game shutout vs. Academy of Art during the 2017 season.
* - Murray fanned a career-high 10 and surrendered two earned runs (four total) and seven hits in 5.0 IP to earn the decision in G2 at Adams State (3/9) ... Murray's 10 strikeouts were the most by a DSU pitcher since former DSU hurler and current Milwaukee Brewer farmhand Dylan File struck out 11 in a complete-game three-hit shutout win over MSUB (2/24/17) during the 2017 season.
* - Murray enters his game two start vs. Regis on Friday as DSU's career leader in K/9IP (8.13) and is currently third in fewest career BB/9IP (2.14) ... Murray is also currently first on the season K/9IP (10.1) list and is fifth in fewest BB/9IP (1.578).
 * - Sophomore LHP Jack Gonzales (5-2/5.87 ERA/36 K), who will start G3 vs. Regis on Saturday, struck out six and gave up just three hits in 5.1 IP in G3 at MSUD last Saturday, however he was done in by five walks and four runs, three of which were scored in the sixth inning ... the southpaw earned his fifth win of the year in game three at NMHU (3/23) after he fired six innings of four-hit baseball and allowed just one run and struck out a career-high eight in the Trailblazers' 12-1 victory ... Gonzales leads all DSU SPs with a .210 OBA.
* - Junior RHP Preston Hannay (4-3/6.92 ERA/31 K) enjoyed a bounce-back start in the finale at MSUD, during which he struck out a career-high eight and surrendered just one run and three hits over 7.0 IP ... Hannay, who will start the finale vs. Regis on Saturday, retired 12 of the first 15 Roadrunners he faced, including five on strikes, en route to his fourth win of the season.
* - Senior RHP Tyler Rosas (1-2/4.60 ERA/1 SV/13 K) picked up his first save out of the DSU bullpen in the finale at MSUD after he fired two innings of one-hit relief with a strikeout ... junior RHP Colton Harris (4-1/3.20 ERA/1 SV/20 K) picked up his fourth win out of the Blazer bullpen in G1 at MSUD.
* - DSU enters the week as the RMAC leader in batting (.335), runs (334) and RBI (T-1st 293), and is second in hits (416) ... in fact, the Blazers are ranked in the league's top-three in virtually every major offensive statistical category.
* - DSU is also third in the RMAC in stolen bases (58-for-72), which includes an impressive 38-for-46 in 24 RMAC games (13-of-13 at ASU).
* - Meanwhile the Trailblazer pitching staff owns a 5.48 team ERA heading into this weekend's series vs. Regis ... DSU pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .280 average through 38 games this season overall and have combined for 283 strikeouts in 307.0 IP.
* - DSU's defense broke a dubious record over the weekend at MSUD when the Blazers were charged with a program record seven errors in game two ... DSU's seven errors broke the previous school record of six set in a home loss to Azusa Pacific during the 2008 season (3/18/08) ... of note, the Trailblazers finished with nine total errors in the series as DSU committed just two miscues combined in games one, three and four.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State closes its 2019 regular season home slate next weekend, April 26-28, with a four-game series vs. Colorado Christian at Bruce Hurst Field.