Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 4 p.m.
Saturday - 2 p.m./5:30 p.m. (approx.)
Sunday - 2 p.m.
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | CSUS
WAC DIGITAL NETWORK: at CSUS
Live Stats: Game #1 | Game #2 | Game #3 | Game #4
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #WACbsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #40 Jimmy Borzone (0-2, 7.08 ERA) vs. RHP #35 Scott Randall (3-0, 2.03 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – RHP #21 Ryan Hardman (0-2, 10.91 ERA) vs. RHP #43 Eli Saul (1-1, 9.18 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – LHP #15 Ben Hart (0-3, 21.60 ERA) vs. RHP #32 Travi Adams (3-1, 3.26 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – LHP #19 Tevita Gerber (1-1, 7.16 ERA) vs. RHP #14 Noah Takacs (0-0, 4.15 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (5-12/3-5 WAC) continues a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play 12 of their next 13 games on the road this weekend with a four-game WAC series at Sacramento State.  
    The series opener will take place on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. (PT), followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. (PT), and Sunday's series finale will start at 1 p.m. (PT). All four games will be played at John Smith Field (1,200) on the CSUS campus.  
 
ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's series at Sacramento State will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Hornets on the diamond.

HI, MY NAME IS ....: After 14 years as a competing member of the NCAA at the Division II level, Dixie State has embarked on its first season transitioning to Division I status as one of two new members (along with Tarleton State) of the Western Athletic Conference.  
    During their 14-year Division II era, the Trailblazers played to a 435-243-1 (.641) overall record. Dixie State won four conference regular season championships (4 Pacific West Conference), and made six-straight NCAA D-II Baseball Tournament regional appearances from 2012-17 (9-12 record in NCAA Tournament games).

DIXIE STATE ON THE WEB: All Dixie State home games, along with all WAC away games, this season will be streamed live online on the WAC Digital Network (wacdigitalnetwork.com). The WDN is also available on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Roku TV, while the WDN app is available for iOS in the Apple Store and Android on Google Play.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened the home portion of its WAC debut schedule last weekend with a split of four games vs. UTRGV at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers claimed the two singles games of the set with a 7-6 walk-off win last Friday, followed by a 3-2 triumph in Sunday's series finale. However the Blazers were outscored by a combined 31-4 count in Saturday's doubleheader.
    DSU then headed north on I-15 for a mid-week date at in-state foe and PAC-12 member Utah this past Tuesday night and came away with a 9-7 victory over the Utes at Smith's Ballpark in Salt Lake City.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his ninth 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 259-140-1 (.648) overall record at DSU, and a 311-199-1 (.609) career mark.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is second-year pitching coach Zach Wilkins (Nevada, 2016), along with seventh-year assistant coaches Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014) and Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015).

MILESTONE MOMENTS FOR PFATENHAUER: Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer recorded his 259th victory in his 400th game in the Trailblazer dugout when Dixie State defeated Utah on Tuesday night. The win marked the second career milestone the long time DSU mentor has reached this season, and the fourth in the past two seasons.
    Earlier this month, he coached in his 500th career game overall when DSU took the field at Wichita State (3/6).
    Last season, before the COVID-19 pandemic halted the 2020 campaign after 18 games, Coach Pfate surpassed two other career milestones, including his 250th win as DSU skipper in the series finale vs. Concordia-Portland (2/23/20). He also reached the 300-win plateau in his stellar career in DSU's walk-off win in game two vs. Azusa Pacific (2/14/20).

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED EIGHTH IN WAC PRESEASON POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish eighth by the coaches in its WAC debut season when the 2021 conference baseball preseason poll was released on Feb. 10.
    There was not much consensus on which program will enter the season as the conference favorite as three teams – UT Rio Grande Valley, Grand Canyon and Sacramento State, all finished tied atop the 10-team poll with 73 points apiece. UTRGV did receive four first place votes, while GCU and Sacramento State collected three first place nods apiece.    
    New Mexico State tallied 53 points to finish fourth in the polling, followed by California Baptist (49 pts) in fifth, Seattle U (37 pts) in sixth, Utah Valley (32 pts) in seventh, Dixie State (26 pts) in eighth, and fellow WAC newcomer Tarleton State (17 pts) and Northern Colorado (17 pts) round out the poll in t-ninth.
    The Trailblazers did not have a player representative on the preseason all-WAC Team. GCU second baseman Juan Colato and Sac State hurler Scott Randall were tabbed as the league's preseason player and pitcher of the year, respectively.

A LOOK AT THE 2021 SCHEDULE: Dixie State put together a who's who list of opponents for its NCAA D-I debut season in 2021. The Blazers' first year of D-I play will feature 56 games, including 26 home dates at Bruce Hurst Field, and a 36-game WAC schedule.
    Including the two completed non-conference series against a pair of WSUs (Washington State and Wichita State), DSU will face four PAC-12 programs overall, including road series at USC (April 9-11) and at nationally-ranked Arizona (May 27-29), along with a return home game vs. Utah on April 6.
    DSU will also play a three-game road set at Mountain West member San Diego State (April 23-25), and another midweek game at in-state foe BYU in Provo on Tuesday, April 20.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Trailblazers have played to a 273-107 (.718) overall record in 380 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era, including an 8-3 mark (.727) in a shortened 2020 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 14 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.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers own a 153-137-1 overall road record (.527) in its four-year era, which included a 7-0 start last season, and an 11-11 mark in 2019. DSU has posted a winning road record in eight of their last 10 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 167-148-1 (.530) 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 12 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 seven 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 ..... and 700: 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 437-253-1 (.633) all-time through 14-plus years of NCAA competition (691 games).
    In addition, DSU is scheduled to play in its 700th game as a four-year program in the series finale at Sacramento State this Sunday, March 28.

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.

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS:
* - After struggling through the UTRGV series, senior 1B/OF/DH Jake Engel bounced back with a 2-for-4 day with a walk, RBI and run scored at Utah on Tuesday ... Engel was limited to just one hit (1-for-15, .067) in four starts vs. UTRGV, though that one hit was a double.
* -  Engel (.291/3 HR/10 RBI) blasted his first two home runs of the year and tallied four RBI in the series finale at Wichita State (3/7) ... he then connected for his team co-leading third homer and drove in a career-high tying five runs in the road win at NMSU (3/14), which moved him into solo third on DSU's career HR list (25).
* -  Engel's two-homer day at WSU came nearly 13 months since his (and DSU's) last one, which happened at home vs. Azusa Pacific (2/13/20) ... meanwhile, Engel last drove in five runs in a home win over CSU-Pueblo nearly two years to the day (3/31/19).
* - Engel enters this weekend fourth in career RBI (118), sixth in career batting (.345), fourth in career SLG% (.609), fifth in career total bases (251), and 10th in career walks (70) ... additionally, the senior (147 hits) is three knocks away from cracking the into the top-10 in career hits.
* -  Engel saw his school record 21-game hit streak come to an end in the season opener vs. Washington State (2/25) ... the streak, which dated all the way back to his final five starts of the 2019 season, eclipsed the previous record of 19-straight games set by former DSU slugger Kevin Kline (2/16-3/14/14) during the 2014 season ... Engel batted .428 (27-for-63) during the streak with 12 multi-hit outings to go with eight doubles, seven homers, 32 RBI and 30 runs scored.
* - Junior 2B Tyler Hollow hit .333 (4-for-12) with a double and on RBI in four starts vs. UTRGV ... Hollow (.321/5 RBI) also collected a double in four ABs with three runs scored in Tuesday's win at Utah ... Hollow's double at Utah, the 32nd of his career, moved him into solo sixth place on DSU's career doubles list.
* - Hollow (149 hits) enters the week fifth in career batting (.349) and he only one more base hits to move into the top-10 in career hits.  
* - Meanwhile, younger brother freshman C Kaden Hollow (.352, 3 HR/16 RBI) enjoyed a breakout game at Utah on Tuesday night as he homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs in the Blazers' win ... Hollow drilled a grand slam in the fourth inning, then followed that up with a two-run shot in the sixth that gave DSU an 8-0 lead, as the freshman posted his first collegiate four-hit game.
* - K. Hollow joined Engel as the only two Trailblazers to hit two homers in a game, and became the first Blazer since Brody Clifford to homer in consecutive at-bats ... in fact, Clifford actually homered in three-straight ABs as part of a school record four-homer day in DSU's 28-9 win at Adams State (3/10/19) during the 2019 season.
* - K. Hollow leads the team with 16 RBI, nine of which have come via the long ball, including a three-run blast in the win at NMSU (3/14) ... Hollow also collected a combined three RBI and batted .286 (4-for-14) in four starts vs. UTRGV last weekend.
* - K. Hollow has hit safely in a career-best eight straight games, and in 12 of his last 13 starts overall, and is batting at team-high .352 with seven XBH.
* - Senior OF Lane Pritchard (.235/1 HR/7 RBI) enjoyed a breakout series at NMSU, against which he batted .455 (5-for-11) with three doubles, one homer (G1) and three RBI in three starts.
* - Pritchard saved his best for last in the series finale when he went 3-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.
* - However his best work in that finale came on the base paths as he tied DSU's single game steals record with four stolen bases, including stealing second, third, AND HOME in the second inning.
* - Pritchard bounced back from a tough UTRGV series in the win at Utah, against which he collected three hits and stole his 25 career stolen base (6-for-6 this year), which moved him into a tie for third on DSU's career steals list.   
* - Senior C/DH Cade Spurlin (.1959/2 HR/4 RBI) enjoyed a solid series at NMSU, where he batted in the lead-off spot in all four games and hit .308 (4-for-13) with two XBH and a team-high five runs scored ... Spurlin also hit .400 in three games vs. UTRGV with an RBI.
* - Junior SS Mathew Ivancich (.179/4 RBI) drove in his first three runs as a Trailblazer in the finale at NMSU and went 4-for-12 (.333) in the series overall.
* - Sophomore OF Ben Petty-Hull (.250/6 RBI) picked the perfect moment to post his first career multi-RBI game when he drove in two sixth inning runs to help propel DSU to the Sunday win vs. UTRGV.  
* - Freshman 3B Shane Taylor (.179/3 RBI) collected his first collegiate XBH and RBI with a two-run double in DSU's four-run fourth inning in the BYU win (3/16).
* - Freshman C Hank Dodson connected for his first collegiate home run in G3 vs. UTRGV last Saturday ... meanwhile, freshman infielder Chase Rodriguez legged out his first collegiate XBH with a pinch-hit triple to lead of the bottom of the fifth in G2 vs. UTRGV.  
* - Senior LHP Tevita Gerber, who will start game four at Sacramento State on Sunday, returned to his 2020 form in the series finale vs. UTRGV last Sunday, against which he scattered six hits and two runs (one earned) in seven innings complete with four strikeouts.
* - Senior closer Brayden Bonner has enjoyed a banner two week stretch that has seen him collected two wins, two saves and become DSU's career leader in appearances.
* - Bonner earned the win vs. BYU (3/16), then picked up his second win in as many outings in the opener vs. UTRGV (3/26) ... two days later he moved atop DSU's career appearances list and earned the save in Sunday's series finale vs. UTRGV (3/28).
* - Then for good measure, Bonner recorded the final four outs, three coming via the strike out, to earn his second save of the year in the win at Utah last Tuesday ... Bonner's save at Utah also moved him into solo third on DSU's career saves list (11).
* - Freshman RHP Dillon Holliday was credited with his first collegiate pitching victory at Utah, against which he threw 2.0 shutout innings, striking out two while surrendering only two hits.
* - Dixie State utilized six different pitchers in the win at Utah, all of whom combined to strikeout 10 Ute hitters, including three  punch outs from junior southpaw Jack Gonzales in his two innings of spotless relief after Holliday opened the game.
* - After committing eight errors in four games vs. Washington State to open the season, Dixie State's defense has committed only 10 total errors in its last 13 games overall, including only one error in 98 total chances in three games at Wichita State (3/5-7) ... DSU also had just three errors in 120 chances at NMSU.

WEAR IT: Dixie State and Washington State pitchers combined to hit 20 batters over their four game set back on Feb. 25-28, though
14 of those HBPs came from Trailblazer hurlers.
    In contrast, only four total batters were hit in the Wichita State series, and while seven combined batters were tagged in four games vs. UTRGV.

FREE BASEBALL: The Trailblazers did not play any extra inning games last season, and the last extra-inning affair came during the 2019 season in an 8-5 loss in eight innings to Regis (4/19/19). Dating back to the 2016 season, the Trailblazers are 31-15 (.674) in 46 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era, and the club has won five of its last seven extra inning games overall.

ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE: Sacramento State enters this weekend's series winners of 11 of its last 13 games overall, including a 7-1 start in WAC play. The Hornets are coming off a four-game sweep at Utah Valley last weekend, and opened the WAC season by taking three-of-four at Tarleton State (3/12-14).
    Senior outfielder Matt Smith is the Hornets' top overall hitter with a .474 average to go with four homers and 11 RBI, while freshman infielder Jorge Bojorquez leads the team in RBI (20) to go with his .310 average and three HRs.
    Game one starter RHP Scott Randall (3-0) has won three of his first five starts with two complete games, and boasts a 2.03 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 31.0 IP.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State continues its nine-game road swing with a four-game WAC series at fellow conference newcomer Tarleton State next weekend, April 1-3.