Game Times (Mountain):
Friday vs. NNU - 4 p.m.
Saturday vs. NNU - 12:30 p.m.
Saturday vs. CSULA - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday vs. CSULA - 12:30 p.m.
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | NNU | CSULA
Audio/Video: vs. NNU/at CSULA
Live Stats: vs. NNU/at CSULA
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Base | #DixieBlazers | #RMACbase | #d2Baseball
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Justin Dunham (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Blake McFadden (*2019 - 0-1, 2.75 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – RHP Haiden Hendricks (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Johnson (*2019 - 4-4, 4.63 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – LHP Jack Gonzales (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. TBA
Sunday (G3) – LHP Tevita Gerber (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. TBA

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (3-0/0-0 RMAC) continues its season-opening SoCal road swing this weekend with a four-game trip to Los Angeles. The Trailblazers get things under way on Friday afternoon against Northwest Nazarene (0-0) at 3 p.m. (PT), followed by a split doubleheader against both NNU (11:30 a.m. PT) and host Cal State LA (0-0; 6:30 p.m. PT) on Saturday.
    DSU will then close the weekend with a single game vs. CSULA (0-0) on Sunday afternoon at 11:30 a.m. (PT). All four games will be played at Reeder Field (500) on the CSULA camps.


ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State is 6-2 all-time vs. Northwest Nazarene, which includes splitting of a pair of one-run games played last season at Bruce Hurst Field (DSU 3-2 2/7/19; NNU 6-5 2/8/19). Prior to last season, the two teams had not met on the diamond since the 2016 when DSU swept a two-game set.
    The Trailblazers also own an 11-3 series lead over CSULA and have won seven-straight and 10 of their last 11 overall vs. the Golden Eagles, which includes a two-game sweep last season in St. George (10-6 and 17-15; 2/8-9/19).  

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers opened the 2020 season with a three-game road sweep at Cal State San Marcos last weekend. DSU, which trailed just once the entire weekend, posted a 14-7 series opening win on Friday afternoon, then surrendered only two total runs (one earned) over the final 18 innings en route to a 5-2 victory in game two Saturday, and a 7-0 shutout result in the series finale on Sunday.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is his eighth 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), owns a 242-125-1 (.659) overall record at DSU, and a 294-184-1 (.614) career mark.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is first-year pitching coach Zach Wilkins (Nevada, 2016), along with sixth-year assistant coaches Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015), and Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014).

DSU IN THE POLLS: Dixie State opens the new season ranked 17th in the Perfect Game 2020 Division II preseason top-25 poll, while the Blazers received votes in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-40 preseason rankings, but did not garner any votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) national preseason poll.
    The NCBWA also released its 2020 NCAA Division II South Central Region preseason poll last week, in which the Trailblazers are ranked fifth heading into the opening weekend.  
     DSU also landed four players on the NCBWA preseason all-region teams, highlighted a preseason first team All-America designation for senior 1B/OF/DH Jake Engel. Engel, along with senior closer Brayden Bonner, also earned first team all-region honors, while junior 2B Tyler Hollow (second-straight year) and sophomore 3B Tyson Fisher were named to the second team.

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED SECOND IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish second in the 2020 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference baseball preseason coaches' poll released on Jan. 29.
    Defending RMAC regular season and tournament champion, and 2019 D-II national runner-up Colorado Mesa collected nine of a possible 10 first place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 81 points, while DSU received one first place nod and 68 points. Colorado School of Mines tallied 63 points to finish third in the poll, followed by UCCS (55 pts) in fourth and MSU Denver (53 pts) in fifth to round out the top-half of the 10-team poll.

LAST SEASON IN THE RMAC: After joining the RMAC in 2018, the 2020 season will mark the second and final season the Trailblazers will be a competing member of the conference. In the upcoming 2020-21 season, Dixie State will begin its transition to NCAA Division I status and will become a new member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). 

OPENING DAY: With its 14-7 win in the opener at CSUSM last Friday, Dixie State improved to 9-5 all-time on "Opening Day" during the program's Division II era. The Blazers have now won five-straight and nine of their last 11 season debuts overall.
    In addition, DSU is 8-6 all-time in road openers, and the Blazers are 5-2 in season-opening road games overall. On the flip side, Dixie State owns an 8-5 overall record in home openers.

HOW SWEEP IT IS: Dixie State's sweep at Cal State San Marcos last weekend was the program's third season-opening series sweep in the last five years, and was the fifth season-opening sweep in the program's NCAA era overall.
    Three of the five sweeps have come on the road, including the last instance, a four-game sweep at Cal State San Bernardino in 2017, and a four-game sweep at Academy of Art to open the 2012 campaign. DSU also posted a four-game sweep of San Bernardino at Bruce Hurst Field in 2016, and recorded a two-game home sweep of Colorado Mesa in a rain-shortened series (scheduled for four games) in 2010.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State closed its 2019 home slate by winning seven of its final eight games to clinch its 13-straight home winning record since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2007. The Trailblazers have played to a 262-98 (.728) overall record in 360 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era, including a 21-7 mark (.750) this season.
    Dixie State has won 20 or more games in eight of 13 seasons at home, 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 W% 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 in 2018 and 14 victories in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons. The Trailblazers continued that trend in their RMAC debut as they played to a 13-3 home record (.812) in league games.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers own a 149-131-1 overall road record (.532) through 13-plus years of D-II competition, which includes last weekend's sweep, and an 11-11 mark last season. DSU has posted a winning road record in seven of their last nine seasons overall, highlighted by a 16-7-1 road mark in 2017. The 16 road wins were the most in program history since beginning 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 (12-11 in 23 games), Dixie State is 158-142-1 (.526) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.

JUST WIN BABY: The Trailblazers have reached the 30-win plateau 10 times in the last 11 seasons overall, which included nine-straight seasons (2009-17), however that streak was halted in 2018 when the Blazers posted an even 25-25 mark.
    In fact, DSU has won 35 of more games in four of the last six campaigns 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 (6-1) on March 16, 2019. DSU is 423-240-1 (.638) all-time through 13-plus years of NCAA Division II competition (664 games).

A DECADE OF DOMINANCE: Dixie State closed out the 2010-19 decade as one of the most all-around successful programs in the NCAA Division II ranks. DSU posted a 337-179-1 (.653) overall record and captured three Pacific West Conference championships (2011/2014/2015) over that 10-year span.
    In addition, the program earned six-straight NCAA Tournament regional berths from 2012-17, and recorded 30 or more wins in nine of 10 seasons overall, including five 35-plus win campaigns.  
    Dixie State was just as tough in conference play as the program finished the decade with a .666 overall winning percentage against league opponents, which included a 227-112-1 mark in PacWest play (.669), and a 23-13 (.639) RMAC record in 2019.

FREE BASEBALL: The Trailblazers played in one extra inning games last season, which resulted in an 8-5 loss in eight innings to Regis (4/19/19). Dating back to the 2016 season, the Trailblazers have won five of their last seven extra inning games overall, and are 31-15 (.674) in 46 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era.

BLAZERS CLAIM FIRST RMAC AWARDS OF 2020: Sophomore 3B Tyson Fisher and senior LHP Tevita Gerber both earned RMAC weekly awards on Tuesday for their collective efforts in the Trailblazers' season-opening road series sweep at Cal State San Marcos last weekend.
    Fisher was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week after batting .636 (7-11) with four extra base hits, five RBI and three runs scored in three starts at the hot corner. The sophomore picked up right where he left off from last season (2019 RMAC Freshman of the Year) in the series opener as he went 4-for-4 with three doubles, three RBI and two runs scored in DSU's 14-7 win. He followed that up with three more hits, including his first homer of the year, and drove in two more runs in Saturday's 5-2 win. Fisher was held hitless in Sunday's finale, though he did draw a walk.
    Gerber, who was selected as RMAC Pitcher of the Week, fired six innings of two-hit shutout baseball on just 70 pitches to earn his first win of the season in DSU's sweep-clinching 7-0 victory on Sunday. The senior also tied a career high with six strikeouts and retired the final nine Cougars he faced to help lead the Blazers to the series sweep.

FROM POLE TO POLE: Senior RF Lane Pritchard got off to a solid start to 2020, batting a combined .273 (3-for-11) with a co-team high three walks in the CSUSM series ... Pritchard drove in two runs in the opener, then singled home another run and legged out a double as part of a 2-for-4 day in G2 ... senior LF Jake Brown hit an even .400 (4-for-10) in three starts at CSUSM, highlighted by a two-hit day with a run scored in the finale ... Brown also drove in three runs with a third inning bases-clearing double that gave DSU the lead for good in G1 ... senior C/OF Braden Stutzman doubled and crossed the plate three times in the opener at CSUSM ... Carlsbad native sophomore OF Drake Benner collected a seventh inning pinch hit RBI-single in his return to North San Diego County in the series finale on Sunday.  

AROUND THE HORN: Senior 1B/OH/DH Jake Engel enjoyed a solid start to his 2020 campaign as the All-American hit a combined .364 (4-for-11) with two XBH, four RBI and a team-high five runs scored in three starts at CSUSM ... Engel hit safely in all three games, which extended his current hit streak to eight-straight (dating back to last season), starting with a 2-for-4 day with two RBI in the opener ... Engel also belted his first HR of the season, a two-out, two-run shot in the second inning in the finale ... junior 2B Tyler Hollow batted an even .500 (4-for-8) with a pair of doubles and three RBI in the CSUSM series ... after an 0-for-3 opener, which stopped his career-best eight-game hit streak (dating back to last season), the junior came back with two hits in each of his next two starts ... junior SS Tanner Argyle got the Opening Day start and went 1-for-4 with a double and run scored ... junior SS Alec Flemetakis started the final two games at CSUSM and combined to hit .286 (2-for-7) with a double and two RBI ... junior 1B/C Tanner Harper split time behind the plate and at 1B last weekend, though he did get the start at 1B in G2 and went 1-for-3 with a run scored ... Harper batted .429 (3-for-7) on the weekend with a double and three runs scored. 

THE BACKSTOP: Senior Cade Spurlin started behind the dish in games one and two (DH in G3) at CSUSM and batted a combined .182 (2-for-11) with a pair of RBI, which included a solo HR to lead off the third inning in G2 ... Spurlin went hitless on Opening Day, which unfortunately stopped his eight-game hit streak (dating back to last season) ... freshman Kaden Hollow made his first start a memorable one as he picked up his first collegiate hit and RBI with a two-run first inning double in the finale at CSUSM. 

THE ROTATION: As a whole, the Trailblazer rotation surrendered just three ER (nine total runs) and posted a minute 1.00 team ERA and .248 opponent BA ... DSU's three starters combined for all three wins and surrendered just 12 hits and six runs (one earned - 0.68 ERA) with 12 Ks in 13.2 IP ... junior RHP Justin Dunham, who will start G1 Friday vs. Northwest Nazarene, got the Opening Day nod at CSUSM, against which he surrendered six hits and four runs in 2.2 IP, though none of the runs were earned due to a pair of early DSU errors ... Dunham also fanned three before being lifted in third inning ... junior LHP Jack Gonzales enjoyed his return to North San Diego County last weekend as the Oceanside native scattered four hits and two runs (one earned) over 5.0 solid innings to earn his first win of the year in G2 at CSUSM ... Gonzales, who will start G1 vs. CSULA on Saturday night, struck out four in his season debut ... junior RHP Haiden Hendricks will make his first start of the year in G2 vs. NNU on Saturday ... Hendricks pitched two innings of scoreless relief with a pair of strikeouts in the finale at CSUSM last Sunday ... Gerber will get the call on get-away day Sunday at CSULA.

CALL TO THE PEN: Senior closer Brayden Bonner collected his first save of the season, and ninth of his career, in G2 at CSUSM last Saturday ... Bonner pitched a spotless ninth inning with a strikeout ... the senior's save moved him into a tie for sixth place on DSU's career saves lists with former DSU hurlers Tanner Howell (2015-18) and Spencer Greer (2016) ... freshman southpaw Benton Hart made the most of his collegiate debut as he fired 3.1 innings of scoreless relief with four strikeouts to earn the decision in the opener at CSUSM (1/31) ... Hart, who is also a San Diego County native, limited the Cougars to just two hits and a walk ... Dixie State's bullpen was solid across the board as nine total relievers combined to surrender only 14 hits and three runs (two earned - 1.37 ERA) with 18 strikeouts in 13.1 innings of work.

TEAM NOTES
* - Dixie State hit a robust .314 in the three games last weekend (33-for-105) with 17 extra bases, including a whopping 14 doubles (NCAA national rankings N/A yet), and three home runs.
* - Through three games this season, DSU is averaging 8.6 runs and 11.0 hits per game ... DSU also went 3-for-6 in the stolen base department in the CSUSM series.
* - Dixie State's last three-game series sweep came nearly two years to the weekend when the Blazers took three from Cal State San Bernardino at Bruce Hurst Field (2/9-11/18).  

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State will open its 2020 home schedule with an 11-game homestand, which starts next weekend with a four-game series against former PacWest rival No. 12/21 Azusa Pacific at Bruce Hurst Field on Feb. 13-15.