Dixie State claimed the middle two games of its four-game WAC series with Utah Valley, 10-9 in eight innings and 4-2 in seven innings, on Saturday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. With the Saturday sweep, the Trailblazers clinch the conference and "Old Hammer Rivalry" baseball series against the Wolverines as DSU moved to 14-26 overall, 12-11 in WAC play.

The Blazers took early command in game one, striking for seven runs over their first three offensive innings en route to a 7-1 lead. Kaden Hollow got the home side on the board with a two-run single in the first, then after UVU (7-34/5-22 WAC) tallied a run in the second, DSU answered with four runs in its half of that frame.

Mathew Ivancich doubled to lead off the second, then after a Wolverine error and a foul out, Shane Taylor chased the Blazer shortstop home with a single to center. Lane Pritchard followed with a two-out, two-run double and he would scamper home five pitches later thanks to a Cade Spurlin double.

After Dixie State executed a double steal for its seventh run in the third, UVU quickly cut the deficit in half an inning later with a three-run Mick Madsen home run. 

DSU got two of those runs back in the fifth when Taylor and Jake Engel cashed in a pair of one-out walks with consecutive singles to extend the Blazer lead to 9-4. Meanwhile, junior starter Jimmy Borzone (ND) retired the next seven Wolverine hitters he faced after the Madsen homer.

However Dixie State would suffer a déjà vu moment as Utah Valley, which erased a five-run lead in the ninth inning of Friday night's series opener, repeated the feat in the seventh to pull even at 9-9.

The Wolverines scored four of their five runs before the first out of the inning could be recorded, with the big blow coming on a Garrett Broussard three-run blast over the left field wall that made it a 9-8 game. Then with two outs, Drew Sims doubled home Kade Poulsen, who scored the tying run all the way from first base.

Dixie State had a chance to win it in the seventh with two on and two out, but a Pritchard drive into the gap in left center was tracked down at the outfield wall by Connor Hall.

DSU held Utah Valley scoreless with the tie-break rule in effect in the eighth, and the Trailblazers capitalized on their chance in the home half with a Tyson Fisher walk-off sacrifice fly that scored Pritchard from third.

The Trailblazers racked up 10 hits in the game one, with Taylor and Pritchard collecting two hits and two RBI apiece. Jack Gonzales (W, 2-4) struck out two in a spotless eighth inning to earn the win in relief.

In the seven-inning nightcap, Pritchard picked up right where he left off as he got DSU on the board with a two-run single in the Blazer first. Taylor walked to lead off the stanza, then after Engel was plunked and a wild pitch advanced both base runners, Pritchard laced a ball that got past a sliding Mitch Moralez at second base and bounded into the outfield.

Dixie State would plate two more runs in the fifth without benefit of a hit as the Trailblazers loaded the bases with a hit batter and two walks to open the inning. Taylor then drew a walk to force in the first run and Pritchard collected his third RBI of the game (and fifth of the day overall) with a run-scoring flyout.

The run support bolstered a solid start for freshman righthander Brett Porthan (W, 1-0), who retired nine of the first 10 Wolverines he faced and held UVU to just two hits over his first five innings of work.

UVU spoiled Porthan's shutout bid with a Brandon Luna two-run homer with two outs in the sixth. However the freshman closed out that inning and worked around a hit and a walk in the seventh to earn his first collegiate victory with the complete game win.

Porthan fanned three and scattered five hits, and he needed only 89 pitches to navigate the seven innings. Pritchard accounted for two of the Blazers' four total hits in the second game.

Dixie State will play for a series sweep as the two teams meet in Sunday's finale beginning at 12:05 p.m.