A night after celebrating a stunning upset win, Dixie State saw its 2021 NCAA Division I debut season come to a heartbreaking end as No. 6 Arizona walked off with a 5-4 victory on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field. The Trailblazers closed the season winners of 13 of their final 19 games to finish with a 24-32 overall record.

The Blazers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in their opening swings of the night, manufacturing the game's first run to take an early lead. Shane Taylor walked to lead off the game, which was followed by a Jake Engel bunt single down the third base line.

Lane Pritchard then moved the runners over with a bunt, and Tanner Harper collected his 12^th RBI of the season with a ground out to short to bring home Taylor.

Arizona (40-15) quickly got that run right back in the home first, cashing in a lead off error for an unearned run. Then with runners on first and second and one out, Kobe Kato blooped a shallow fly ball to right field, where Pritchard made a diving grab for the second out to save at least one run.

Luckily for the Blazers, Pritchard's web gem also triggered an inning-ending 9-3-6 double play when the lead Wildcat runner rounded third and headed home unaware that the ball had been caught.

Dixie State would break the game open in the fourth, scoring three runs on four hits and two Wildcat errors in the frame. Taylor reached on an opposite field single to start the stanza, which was followed by Engel beating out an infield hit and two subsequent Arizona throwing errors on the play that allowed Taylor to score all the way from first base.

Pritchard then brought around Engel with a single to make it a 3-1 game. Following a Harper walk and a Kaden Hollow sacrifice, Tyson Fisher singled through the left side to plate Pritchard to extend the lead to 4-1.

While the Blazer offense was doing its thing to get the lead back, freshman hurler Brett Porthan retired 10 of the next 13 Wildcats he faced after Arizona scored its first inning run.

The Wildcats would get to Porthan in Arizona fifth, touching him up for two runs on three hits, with the big blow coming on a run-scoring triple from Donta' Williams, who later scored on a Branden Boissiere base knock. Porthan would manage to limit the Wildcats to those two runs as he retired the next two hitters he faced to escape the inning with the lead.

The game would be turned over the Blazer bullpen in the sixth, and Arizona responded, using a pair of singles and a wild pitch to set up a successful Nik McClaughry suicide squeeze to push the tying run across and knot the game at 4-4.

Dixie State had a chance to take the lead in the eighth after an errant pick-off attempt allowed Fisher to race around to third base with one out. Tyler Hollow stepped up and ripped a sharp ground ball to McClaughry at short with Fisher going on contact.

McClaughry managed to corral the hot shot and fired a strike to the plate to get the sliding Fisher before he could score the go-ahead run. 

After Dixie State was retired in order in the ninth, Williams reached on a one-out single and took second on a wild pitch to set the stage for Wildcat slugger Jacob Berry, who blasted a towering fly ball to left field.

DSU outfielder Chase Rodriguez tracked down the ball and made a leaping attempt to make the grab at the base of the outfield wall, but the collision with the wall allowed the ball to carom away from DSU defender, and Williams raced home carrying the winning run to end the game. 

Porthan struck out three and scattered three runs (two earned) on five hits in five complete innings of work, but he did not figure in the decision. Senior lefthander Tevita Gerber (L, 1-2), who came on with two outs in the sixth and had retired eight-straight Wildcats with four strikeouts, was saddled with the hard-luck loss after Arizona's ninth-inning rally.

Engel finished with two of the Blazers' seven hits on the night, which vaulted him into fourth place on DSU's career hits list (191).
 
GAME/SEASON NOTES:

• Dixie State has won at least 24 games in each of its 15 seasons of NCAA competition, though this season marked the first time in the program's four-year era it finished below .500 overall.
• Dixie State posted a 21-15 record in its first season of Western Athletic Conference play, which was good for fourth place in the league standings.
• Dixie State played in front of an announced crowd of 2,506 fans on Saturday night at Hi Corbett Field, which was the largest crowd to see a DSU baseball game in the program's NCAA era. It was also the sixth time this season, and the eighth time overall since the program moved to NCAA play in 2007, that DSU had played in front of more than 1,000 fans.
• Engel wrapped up his five-year, All-American career ranked in DSU's top-10 in 16 offensive categories … he finished as the program's career leader in home runs (32), and wound up tied for first in RBI (147) and sixth-overall in career average (.346).
• Pritchard wrapped up his three seasons as Dixie State ranked second all-time in career stolen bases (34), and is ranked in the top-10 in seven career offensive categories overall.
• Senior closer Brayden Bonner concluded his collegiate career as DSU's leader in career appearances (71) and t-third in saves (13).
• Junior LHP Jack Gonzales finished as DSU's recorder holder in season (14.21) and career (9.83) K/9IP, and third all-time in strikeouts (157).