Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 2 p.m.
Saturday (DH) - 12 noon
Sunday - 12 noon
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | ASU
Live Video: vs. ASU
Live Stats: vs. ASU
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #RMACbase | #D2Baseball
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Justin Dunham (2-0, 1.37 ERA) vs. RHP Alfredo Villa (1-1, 7.63 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – LHP Jack Gonzales (1-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Troy Gutbub (1-2, 8.44 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – TBA vs. LHP Dalton Carleo (0-3, 8.56 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – LHP Tevita Gerber (3-0, 3.68 ERA) vs. RHP Cutter Smith (1-0, 11.12 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: No. 24 Dixie State (11-3/0-0 RMAC) wraps up its 11-game homestand and begins its final season of RMAC play this weekend as the Trailblazers welcome in Adams State (5-9/0-0 RMAC) for a four-game series at Bruce Hurst Field.
    Game one of the series will be played on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 12 noon, and Sunday's series finale will also at 12 noon.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Dixie State and Adams State met for the first time on the diamond last season in DSU's RMAC debut series, and the Trailblazers announced their RMAC presence with authority as Dixie State posted a four-game sweep in Alamosa. DSU outscored the Grizzlies 68-28 in the four games, which included a school-record tying 28 runs (W, 28-9) in the series finale (3/10/19), as the Blazer offense hit on all cylinders in its RMAC debut.
    Dixie State pounded out 39 extra base hits (out of the 68 total base hits) in the series sweep, which included school records for doubles (9), home runs (7), XHB (17), and total hits (28) in that series finale. DSU wound up with 22 doubles, five triples, and 12 homers, and posted an .866 SLG%, in the four game set.
    Former DSU OF Brody Clifford enjoyed an all-time career day in that series finale, going 5-for-7 with a DSU school record four home runs and a school record-tying nine RBI in DSU's 28-9 win. Tyson Fisher collected a team-high six XBH with three doubles, two triples and one HR as he hit an even .500 in the series, while Braxton Ipson hit .357 with three doubles and two homers.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers, who are coming off a 12-day break between series, took two of three from Concordia-Portland at Bruce Hurst Field this past Feb. 21-23. DSU opened the series with a 9-4 victory ahead of splitting a Sunday twin bill, dropping game two of the series by a 2-0 count before rebounding for a 10-4 series clinching win in the finale.

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 250-128-1 (.661) overall record at DSU, and a 302-187-1 (.617) 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).

PFATENHAUER PASSES ONE MORE CARER MILESTONE: Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer surpassed his second career milestone in as many home series as he collected his 250th win as DSU skipper in the series finale vs. Concordia-Portland on Feb. 23.
    In addition, Coach Pfate reached the 300-win plateau in his stellar career in DSU's walk-off win in game two vs. Azusa Pacific back on Valentine's Day.
    Coach Pfatenhauer is also inching closer to two more career milestones, which he will surpass later this season. He is on pace to coach in his 500th-career game when the Trailblazers take the field in the first game of a home Saturday DH vs. New Mexico Highlands on March 21. Additionally, Coach Pfate is slated coach in his 400th game as Dixie State mentor at home in the series opener vs. MSU Denver on Thursday, April 9.

DSU IN THE POLLS: Dixie State enters the week ranked No. 24 in this week's Collegiate Baseball Newspaper top-30 poll, and is just out of the top-25 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) national poll (Feb. 26), though the first March poll was not released by press time. The NCBWA also released its latest NCAA Division II South Central Region Top-10 poll this past Monday, in which the Trailblazers moved up three spots to No. 2 overall despite not playing last weekend.
    Dixie State 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 season-opening win at Cal State San Marcos (1/31), 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. Meanwhile, Dixie State owns an 9-5 overall record in home openers after its 8-7 triumph over Azusa Pacific on Feb. 13.

HOW SWEEP IT IS: Dixie State's season-opening sweep at Cal State San Marcos last month 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.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START....: For the second time in the program's NCAA era, Dixie State opened a season with at least nine-straight victories, which included seven-straight on the road to kick off 2020, which marked the first time in program history that the Trailblazers had started any season with seven-straight wins AWAY FROM HOME.
    In 2016, Dixie State began that season with 10-straight wins, all of which came inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field, on its way to a school record 40 victories overall.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Trailblazers have played to a 266-101 (.724) overall record in 367 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era, including a 4-3 mark (.571) after seven games this season.
    Dixie State closed its 2019 home slate by winning seven of its final eight games to clinch its 13-straight home winning record (21-7, .750) since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2007.
    DSU 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 151-131-1 overall road record (.535) through 13-plus years of D-II competition, which includes a 7-0 start this season, 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 (14-11 in 25 games), Dixie State is 165-142-1 (.537) 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 429-242-1 (.639) all-time through 13-plus years of NCAA Division II competition (672 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.

FROM POLE TO POLE: Senior 1B/OF/DH Jake Engel (.444/4 HR/16 RBI) extended his hitting streak to a career-best 17-straight games (dating back to the final five games of 2019) with an RBI-double in the opener vs. CU-Portland (2/21), though he DNP in the Sunday DH ... the senior slugger enters this weekend's series tied for fourth place on DSU's career HR list (20), and is sixth in career hitting (.349) and 10th in career RBI with 98.  
    Senior RF Lane Pritchard (.365/2 HR/9 RBI) will look to bounce back after hitting .125 (1-for-8) in three starts, though he did draw three walks and had five runs scored in the CU-Portland series ... Senior CF Braden Stutzman (.267/1 HR/9 RBI) went hitless in three starts in the CU-Portland series, however he did manage to drive in three runs to go with a stolen base and one run scored.

AROUND THE HORN: Sophomore 3B Tyson Fisher (.388/2 HR/12 RBI) led the Blazer offense with a .400 average (4-for-10) with a pair of doubles and three RBI in the CU-Portland series ... Fisher hit safely in two of the three games, highlighted by a 3-for-5 effort with two RBI in the finale ... Fisher was named RMAC Offensive Player of the Week (2/3) after batting .636 (7-for-11) with four extra base hits, five RBI and three runs scored in the Cal State San Marcos series.
    Junior 2B Tyler Hollow (.327/0 HR/11 RBI) extended his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games with a single and run scored in the opener vs. CU-P ... Hollow saw that streak end in game two, though he came back with a base knock in the series finale.   
    Junior SS Alec Flemetakis (.286/0 HR/6 RBI) started all three games in the CU-Portland series and hit .333 (4-for-12) with a double, two RBI and three runs scored.
    Junior 1B/C Tanner Harper (.359/1 HR/8 RBI) bounced back with a solid series vs. CU-Portland, against which he batted .375 (3-for-8) with two walks, one RBI and two runs scored.

THE BACKSTOP: Senior Cade Spurlin (.234/4 HR/12 RBI) was held to just one hit (.091; 1-for-11) in the CU-Portland series ... however that one hit was a big one as he connected for his fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot that broke a 3-3 fourth-inning tie to give DSU the lead for good in the Blazers' 10-4 win in the series finale (2/23) ... Spurlin co-leads the team in XBH, including a team-high two triples, and is tied for the team lead in HRs with Engel.

THE ROTATION: Junior RHP Justin Dunham (2-0/1.37 ERA/17 K), who will start G1 Friday vs. Adams State, posted another solid start in the series opener vs. CU-Portland, against which he scattered four hits and three runs (one earned) with four strikeouts in 5.2 IP, though he did not figure into the decision ... Dunham picked up his second win of the year in the opener vs. Azusa Pacific (2/13) after limiting the Cougars to just four hits and one run over 6.0 IP with three strikeouts ... Saturday's G2 starter, junior LHP Jack Gonzales (1-1/3.00 ERA/17 K) was saddled with the loss in game two vs. CU-Portland (2/23), though the junior southpaw deserved a better fate after he struck out three and surrendered just four hits and two runs over 6.0 solid innings ... unfortunately the DSU offense was limited to only three total hits in defeat ...  Senior LHP Tevita Gerber (3-0/3.68 ERA/21 K) will get the call in Sunday's finale vs. Adams State ... the senior southpaw fanned three and gave up four runs and seven hits in six innings of work to earn his team-leading third win of the year in G3 vs. CU-Portland (2/23) ... Gerber was named RMAC Pitcher of the Week (2/3) after he fired six innings of two-hit shutout baseball on just 70 pitches in the finale at Cal State San Marcos (2/2).

CALL TO THE PEN: Senior closer Brayden Bonner collected his first save of the season, and ninth of his career, in G2 at Cal State San Marcos (2/1) ... Bonner, who may return to action this weekend vs. Adams State, 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 LHP Benton Hart (2-0/2.45 ERA/8 K) collected his second win out of the Blazer bullpen in the series opener vs. CU-Portland after he threw 2.0 innings of one hit ball and allowed one unearned run with three strikeouts ... junior RHP Zach Hansen (0-0/0.00 ERA/1 SV/11 K) continued his solid work in the early going as he struck out two in the CU-Portland ninth in the series finale ... Hansen collected his first save of the year in G1 vs. Azusa Pacific (2/13), and fanned three over 1.2 innings of spotless work in that series finale ... senior RHP Preston Hannay (0-0/0.00 ERA/13 K) punched out a combined six in 4.1 innings over two appearances in the CU-P series  ... in all, the Blazer bullpen pitched 9.1 innings of outstanding relief as six relievers combined for 13 total strikeouts and limited the Cavaliers to one unearned run and eight hits overall. 

TEAM NOTES
* - Dixie State's offense has been held in check during the first seven games of the homestand as the Trailblazers have hit a combined .228 and scored just 40 runs (outscored 43-40) ... Meanwhile, the Blazers tore the cover off the ball in their first seven games (7-0) away from home, hitting a combined .361 and outscoring their first three opponents 73-22 over that stretch.
* - Dixie State's shutout loss in G2 vs. CU-Portland (2/23) came nearly two years to the day since the last time DSU was held scoreless, which happened in 2018 in the series finale at Point Loma (3-0, 2/24/18) during DSU's last season in the Pacific West Conference.
* - DSU's home ShO shutout loss vs. CU-P (2/23) broke a string of 198-consecutive home games that the Trailblazers scored at least one run in ... Dixie State's last shutout home loss came all the way back in the 2012 season when DSU dropped a 6-0 decision to Cal State LA (5/5/12).
* - In fact, Dixie State has been shutout just 18 times in 675 total games in the program's NCAA era, and has only been shutout in consecutive games twice (2013 at Hawai'i Pacific and 2014 at Colorado Mesa).
* - Dixie State touched up NNU/CSULA pitching for a combined .392 batting average in four games in Los Angeles (2/7-9) ... 20 of the Blazers' 62 total hits that weekend went for extra bases, including nine doubles (23 over seven games overall) and nine homers.
* - Dixie State enters this weekend 25th in NCAA D-II in doubles (34), 28th in HRs (16), 29th in SLG% (.601), 39th in runs scored (113), 52nd in triples (4), 47th in batting (.319) and 67th in hits (143).
* - Through 14 games this season, DSU is averaging an RMAC best 8.0 runs and 10.2 hits per game ... DSU is also first in team ERA at 3.17 team ERA (t-21st nationally), and is second in both total strikeouts (109, 8.0 K/9) and opponent BA (.243).
* - Prior to its season-opening sweep at Cal State San Marcos, 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: After spending more than a month at home, Dixie State will open the road portion of its final season of RMAC play with a four-game weekend series at UCCS next weekend in Colorado Springs.