Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 6:30 p.m.
Saturday - 6 p.m.
Sunday - 12:30 p.m.
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | ARIZONA STATE
Live Streaming: PAC-12.com
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #WACbsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #29 Dillon Holliday (*2021 - 5-2, 4.32 ERA) vs. LHP #36 Adam Tulloch (*2021 - 0-4, 6.27 ERA @ West Virginia)
Saturday (G2) – RHP #18 Brett Porthan (*2021 - 2-0, 5.73 ERA) vs. RHP #44 Kyle Luckham (*2021 - 3-9, 5.25 ERA @ CS Fullerton)
Sunday (G3) – LHP #15 Ben Hart (*2021 - 3-5, 8.67 ERA) vs. RHP #46 Jason Walker (*2021, 4.12 ERA @ Davidson)

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (0-0/0-0 WAC) opens its second NCAA Division I season this weekend with a three-game road series at PAC-12 member Arizona State (0-0). DSU's "Opening Night" will be this Friday against the Sun Devils at 6:30 p.m. (MT), followed by game two on Saturday at 6 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. All three games will be played at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
   
ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's series will mark the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Sun Devils on the diamond.

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.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer begins his 10th season as head coach of the Dixie State Baseball program. During his tenure in the Trailblazer dugout, Pfatenhauer 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 250th victory as DSU skipper in the series finale vs. Concordia-Portland (10-4; 2/23/2020), owns a 278-160-1 (.634) overall record at DSU, and a 330-219-1 (.601) career mark.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is third-year pitching coach Zach Wilkins (Nevada, 2016), along with eighth-year assistant coaches Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014) and Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015).

QUICK 2021 RECAP: Dixie State posted a 24-32 overall record in its first season as an NCAA Division I program, which included a 21-15 mark and a fourth place finish in its first season of Western Athletic Conference play.
    The Trailblazers won 13 of their final 19 games, highlighted by an 11-9 upset win at then-No. 6 and PAC-12 champion Arizona in the penultimate game of the season (5/28/21).

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED FIFTH IN WAC PRESEASON DIVISION POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish fifth in the newly formed WAC West Division as the conference announced its 2022 baseball preseason polls back on February 9.
    With the addition of the four new Texas schools to the WAC, the 13-team conference has split into two divisions. Defending WAC champion Grand Canyon topped the West Division poll with five first place votes and 34 total points, while Sacramento State collected one first place nod and 30 points to finish second.
    California Baptist also received one first place vote and tallied 27 points to finish third in the West poll, followed by New Mexico State (20 pts) in fourth, DSU (19 pts) in fifth, Utah Valley (10 pts) in sixth and Seattle U (7 pts) in seventh.
    In the Southwest Division, which features all Texas schools, WAC newcomer Abilene Christian picked up five first place nods and 25 points to claim the top spot in that poll. Meanwhile, UTRGV (1 FPV, 19 pts) and league newcomer Sam Houston (19 pts) tied for second, followed by new WAC members Lamar (11 pts) and Stephen F. Austin (9 pts) in fourth and fifth place, respectively, and Tarleton State (7 pts) wound up in sixth.

OPENING DAY: Dixie State is 9-6 all-time on "Opening Day" during its NCAA era and has won five of its last six, and nine of its previous 12 season debuts overall.
    In addition, Dixie State owns an 9-6 overall record in home openers, 4-3 in season openers at home, while DSU is 8-7 all-time in road openers, and the Blazers are 5-3 in season-opening road games overall.

A LOOK AT THE 2022 SCHEDULE: Dixie State's 2022 schedule will feature 55 games, including 22 home dates at Bruce Hurst Field, along with match-ups against six 2021 NCAA Regional teams, and home-and-home single mid-week dates against UNLV (H - 2/22; A - 4/12) and in-state rivals Utah (A - 4/26; H - 5/11) and BYU (H - 4/5; A - 5/10).
    The Blazers' non-conference slate includes ASU this weekend, along with four-game home series next weekend vs. North Dakota State (2/25-27), and road series at Nevada (3/15-16), at Cal Poly (4/1-3), and at UC Santa Barbara (5/13-15). DSU will also play single game mid-week road dates at nationally-ranked Arizona (3/1), at CSUN (3/22), and at Loyola Marymount (5/17).
    Dixie State will open its 30-game WAC slate with a three-game home series against in-state rival Utah Valley March 4-6.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Trailblazers have played to a 287-110 (.723) overall record in 397 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era, including winning 12-straight home games to finish the 2021 campaign with a 17-9 mark.
    In fact, Dixie State has posted a winning home record in all 15 seasons since becoming an NCAA program in 2007. DSU also went 8-3 (.727) in the COVID-19 Pandemic shortened 2020 season, and closed its 2019 home slate by winning seven of its final eight games to en route to a 21-7 (.750) home mark.
    DSU has won 20 or more home games in eight of 15 seasons overall, 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 156-154-1 overall road record (.503) in its four-year era, though they went 7-23 away from home last season.
    DSU has posted a winning road record in eight of their last 11 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 172-165-1 (.510) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
    
JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State's 24-32 overall record in its first NCAA D-I season led to another first for the Trailblazer program since it joined the NCAA ranks in 2007 - that being that Dixie State saw a final season record finish below the .500 plateau.
    Prior to this season, Dixie State had played to a winning record in 13 of its previous 14 seasons, with the lone exception coming in 2018, when the Trailblazers posted an even 25-25 mark. In fact, DSU has reached the 30-win plateau 10 times in 15 seasons of NCAA play overall, which included nine-straight seasons from 2009 to 2017.
    DSU has won 35 of more games in a season four times 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: 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 currently 457-275-1 (.629) all-time through 15 years of NCAA competition (733 games).

BEST IN STATE?: Dixie State finished the in-state portion of its 2021 D-I debut schedule with a 6-2 mark against the other three Utah baseball schools. Along with their four-game WAC sweep of Utah Valley, the Trailblazers split home-and-home single game match-ups against both PAC-12 member Utah and West Coast Conference member BYU.

HOLLOW ON PRESEASON WATCH LISTS: Sophomore catcher Kaden Hollow has earned some early preseason attention heading into the 2022 campaign. Hollow, who was voted to the WAC preseason all-conference team, is listed as one of the top-50 catchers in the nation by D1Baseball.com.
    In addition, the sophomore backstop is on the 2022 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list.
    Hollow earned first team all-WAC and 2021 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-America honors after batting .322 with 15 doubles, nine homers and 41 RBI. He finished the year ranked in the WAC's top-10 in four offensive categories, including slugging percentage (.559), home runs, doubles, and RBI.
    He posted a career and DSU team season high 14-game hit streak last year, and hit safely in 37 of 53 games played with 12 multi-hit outings. Hollow also drove in at least one run in 20 games with 11 games with two or more RBI.
    On the defensive side, Hollow threw out 12 of 49 possible base stealers and posted a .992 fielding percentage, with just three errors in 355 total chances.

QUICK 2022 SEASON PREVIEW: Dixie State returns six starting position players and four primary starting pitchers, along with 22 letter winners, from a 2021 Trailblazer team that finished with a 24-32 overall record in its NCAA Division I debut season.
    Along with Kaden Hollow, older brother Tyler Hollow returns for his senior season as the primary second baseman. The older Hollow started in all 20 games he played in during an injury-plagued 2021 season and batted .304 with five doubles and nine runs scored.
    DSU also welcomes back sophomore all-WAC selection Shane Taylor (.288/6 HR/25 RBI), who served as the Blazers' lead-off hitter and is slated to be DSU's opening day third baseman. Dixie State also returns a pair of outfielders in senior CF Jagun Leavitt (.253/8 RBI) and junior RF Tyson Fisher (.185/9 HR/23 RBI), along with senior shortstop Mathew Ivancich (.208/2 HR/16 RBI).
    Though six of the probable nine spots on the opening weekend line-up spots are filled by returners, sophomore OF Parker Schmidt (.371/4 HR/36 RBI in 2021 at Pima CC), who originally signed to play at Oregon, will figure into the everyday left field starts.
    Meanwhile, junior Sean Keating (.403/8 HR/57 RBI in 2021 at Salt Lake CC), who signed at ASU out of high school, will see time at first base and the outfield, and sophomore Will Chambers (.348/3 HR/16 RBI in 2020 at College of the Canyons) will also play at 1B and DH this season.
    On the bump, sophomore RHP Dillon Holliday (5-2/4.32 ERA/35 K), who will be DSU's Opening Day starter at ASU, is back to anchor a veteran rotation. Senior RHP Jimmy Borzone (3-5/7.23 ERA/73 K), who is expected to make his 2022 debut next week, and ASU G2 starter sophomore righthander Brett Porthan (2-0/5.73 ERA/25 K), will also play prominent roles in the Blazers' rotation.
    In addition, sophomores Ryan Hardman (3-6/8.36 ERA/43 K), who may also see time in the late innings out of the bullpen, and southpaw (and ASU G3 starter) Ben Hart (3-5/8.67 ERA/37 K), along with junior college transfer RHP Jake Dahle (College of Southern Idaho – 6-3/3.06 ERA/50 K) will also be in the mix in the Trailblazer rotation.
    Out of the bullpen, sophomore RHP Taye Newman (College of Southern Idaho – 2-0/3 K) may be the early choice for the ninth inning, while Hardman, along with Butler transfer Scott Wright (RHP/Sr.), and returning righthanders Zach Thomas (Jr./2-1/10 K) and Ethan Fowlks (R-So./0-0/11 K) may also figure in late inning and set-up situations. In all, DSU returns 10 pitchers from the 2021 campaign and welcomes in nine new hurlers who will vie for innings.
 
FREE BASEBALL: After not playing an extra inning game in two full seasons, Dixie State played five extra inning affairs over its final 34 games to close out the 2021 campaign. DSU saw its 52-straight game streak of not playing an extra inning game come to an end in the series opener at Tarleton State (L, 9-10, 4/1/21), and the Blazers finished the year with a 2-3 mark in extra innings.
    The Trailblazers are 33-18 (.647) in 51 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era, 16-8 in 10-inning games, and the program has won seven of its last 12 extra inning games overall.

ABOUT THE ARIZONA STATE "SUN DEVILS": Arizona State, which played to a 33-22 record and earned an NCAA Tournament regional berth last season.
    The Sun Devils are led by sophomore All-American infielder Ethan Long, who batted .340 with 16 home runs and 53 RBI, while he finished 13th-nationally in slugging percentage (.725).
    Former Sun Devil infielder and 14-year MLB veteran Willie Bloomquist (Arizona State, 2001) begins his first season as head coach for the ASU program.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State opens its 2022 home slate with a Tuesday match-up against UNLV at Bruce Hurst Field. First pitch is slated for 4:05 p.m.