Dixie State dropped the middle two games of its four-game WAC series at Grand Canyon, 5-0 in seven innings and 4-3 in 10 innings, on Saturday afternoon at GCU Ballpark.

Pitching was the order of the day to start the twin bill as both starting pitchers put up zeroes through the first three innings. GCU starter Carter Young (W, 7-0) retired the first 11 Trailblazers he faced before Lane Pritchard reached on a clean single with two outs in the fourth.

Meanwhile, junior righthander Jimmy Borzone matched his counterpart through his first 2.2 innings, though he did run into a little bit of trouble with consecutive hit batters and an Antelope base hit that loaded the bases with two outs in the third. However Borzone got out of the frame unscathed as he induced an inning-ending ground out.

GCU would break through against the Blazer hurler in the fourth as the Lopes struck for a pair of one-out singles, and David Avitia cashed one of those base runners in with a two-out base hit for the game's first run. The Lopes would tack on four more runs in the sixth, two of which came after a crucial one-out error, to put the game away.

Dixie State, which was held scoreless on just two hits in Friday's series opener, could not get the bats going against Young as the Trailblazers mustered only two hits and four total base runners over the seven innings.

Borzone (L, 2-5) pitched into the fifth, but was saddled with the loss despite allowing just the one run and five hits, though he did not record a strikeout for the first time in his 11 appearances this season.

The shutout loss, DSU's second in as many games, marked the just the third time in the program's NCAA era that it had been shutout in consecutive games, and it was the first time since the 2014 season (at Colorado Mesa; 0-2/0-1 – 2/15/14).

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth in the nightcap, the Trailblazers created their best scoring chance of the series as they loaded the bases with two outs. Drake Benner was plunked to start the rally, which was followed by a Jagun Leavitt single and a Tanner Argyle walk.

Jake Schulz then stepped up and laced a single through the left side of the infield to bring home Benner, but Leavitt was thrown out at the plate end the threat. However with that run, the Trailblazers broke a 17.2 scoreless innings streak in the series.

The score remained tied until the bottom of the sixth when Tyler Wilson singled home Elijah Buries carrying the go-ahead run with two outs.

Dixie State got that run back in the eighth on a Benner RBI-single and had a chance for a big inning as Leavitt and Mathew Ivancich followed with consecutive bunt singles to load the bases with one out. GCU would escape the inning with the score tied as reliever Vince Reilly retired the next two hitters he faced with infield outs.

In the 10^th inning playing with the international tiebreak rule in effect, Kaden Hollow bunted pinch runner Tyson Fisher to third ahead of Benner, who gave Dixie State its first lead of the series at 3-2 with a single to left field.

GCU followed suit with a Juan Colato base hit that drew the Lopes even, but Grand Canyon managed to extend the inning and had runners on the corners with two outs. Cade Verdusco would come through with a sharp single through the left side on a Ben Hart (L, 1-5) 2-2 offering to drive in Colato and end the game.

After being held to four total hits in the first two games, DSU rapped out 10 hits in the nightcap, with Benner and Leavitt each collecting three safeties. However the Trailblazers stranded 12 runners on the base paths.

Freshman starter Brett Porthan (ND) pitched into the sixth, scattering two runs on five hits with one strikeout, while senior southpaw Jack Gonzales (ND) fanned a season-high six and surrendered two hits in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief.

The two teams will wrap up their four-game weekend series on Sunday with a single game beginning at 1 p.m. (PT).