Lane Pritchard drove in a career-high tying four runs to help lead Dixie State to a hard-fought 7-5 victory at Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon at John Smith Field. With the win, the Trailblazers (6-15/4-8 WAC) salvaged the final game of their four-game WAC weekend road series and picked up a win in the program's 700^th NCAA game (441-258-1).

Trailing 1-0 after a Hornet first inning home run, Dixie State turned three hits and a walk into three third-inning runs to bolt out in front 3-1. Jake Schulz led off the frame with a single and following a Shane Taylor sacrifice bunt and Ben Petty-Hull walk, Kaden Hollow doubled in Schulz to put DSU on the board.

Then with two outs in stanza, Pritchard slapped a 3-2 Noah Takacs (ND) offering back up the middle to chase home both Petty-Hull and Hollow and stake the Blazers to the two-run cushion.

Sacramento State (17-6/10-2 WAC) struck back with three runs of its own in the home third as the first two Hornet batters singled ahead of Trevor Doyle, who drilled a Tevita Gerber (ND) pay-off pitch off the right field foul pole to give his side the lead back at 4-3.

DSU wrestled the lead away in the fifth and it was again the Petty-Hull/Hollow/Pritchard combination that keyed the rally. Petty-Hull walked to lead off the inning, which was followed by a Hollow single down the left field line.

Jake Engel would bunt to two baserunners into scoring position for Pritchard, who ripped a two-run double to the gap in left center to put the Blazers back on top at 5-4.

CSUS would pull even with a bases loaded walk in the sixth, but Dixie State got that run back in the seventh when Cade Spurlin laced a pinch-hit, two-out double to the left field to plate Engel, who doubled earlier in the frame. Spurlin would strike again two innings later as he tripled down the right field line with two outs in the ninth to extend the DSU lead to 7-5.

The Trailblazer bullpen would make the late lead stand up as freshman righthander Dillon Holliday (W, 2-0) fired 2.1 innings of spotless relief, while senior closer Brayden Bonner (S, 3) worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to save the win. 

Dixie State outhit the Hornets 10-6, highlighted by a 3-for-4 day with three runs scored for Hollow. Pritchard finished with two hits to go with his four RBI, as did Spurlin in his two clutch late-game plate appearances.

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.