Jake Engel homered twice and drove in three runs to help lead Dixie State to an 8-7 victory over Azusa Pacific in the Trailblazers' 2020 home opener Thursday night at Bruce Hurst Field.

Engel wasted little time getting the Blazers (8-0) on the board in the home first as he cashed in lead-off error with his first blast, a two-run shot to left field to stake DSU to a quick 2-0 lead just two batters in. APU (3-6) got one of those runs back with a home run of its own in the second when Joseph Kim connected for an opposite field shot to trim the deficit to 2-1.

Dixie State would counter with three runs in the third and two more in the fourth to extend to a commanding 7-1 advantage. Cade Spurlin reached on a one-out double to start the third-inning rally and would come around to score on a Tyler Hollow single. Lane Pritchard followed with a two-run single two batters later to give the Blazers a four-run cushion.

Then in the home fourth, Spurlin collected an RBI with a one-out single, which was followed by a Tanner Harper run-scoring foul out to right field. The early run support bolstered another strong start by junior righthander Justin Dunham, who retired nine of the next 11 Cougar batters he faced after the Kim homer.

DSU maintained its six-run lead until the seventh when APU struck for three runs to cut the deficit in half at 7-4. Two of the three Cougar runs were unearned after a one-out Blazer error helped extend the stanza.

Engel delivered a big insurance run in the home eighth as he led off the frame with an opposite-field homer on the first pitch he saw from Cougar reliever Jon Keane.

That run proved to be the difference as Azusa Pacific mounted a furious rally in the ninth as the first five Cougars to bat in the inning reach base safely. Casey Dykstra singled and Griffen Herrera doubled ahead of Osvaldo Tovalin, who drove in both baserunners with a sharp single up the middle to pull APU to within 8-6.

Then after a pitching change and a hit batter, Kim stepped up and rapped a single to right field, which drove in the third run of the inning. However on the play, pinch runner Max Tsai was cut down on a perfect throw from Pritchard to third baseman Tyson Fisher for the first out of the frame.

DSU reliever Zach Hansen (S, 1) retired the next batter he faced on a flyout, then after a two-out error, the junior struck out pinch hitter Eli Ledesma to end the game.

Dixie State finished with eight hits on the night, with Engel leading the way with three safeties and three runs scored, while Spurlin went 2-for-4. Dunham (W, 2-0) scattered four hits and one run with three strikeouts over six solid innings to win for the second time in three starts overall.

The two teams will play a pair of seven-inning games on Friday beginning at 12 noon at Bruce Hurst Field.