Dixie State wrapped up its first home weekend of the 2022 season with a series-clinching 6-4 victory over North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers took three of four from the Bison to improve to 4-3 overall.
 
NDSU (4-4) struck first with a Logan Williams home run just two batters into the game, and the Bison were poised to add more runs in the second after consecutive singles and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position to open the frame.
 
However, sophomore southpaw Ben Hart (ND) escaped the inning unscathed with a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
 
The Blazers took the lead for good in their half the second, sending seven to the plate and scoring three runs on four hits. Chase Rodriguez and Tyson Fisher both singles to lead off the frame, which was followed by Mathew Ivancich one-out hit to load the bases.
 
Jagun Leavitt then stepped up and pulled a ball through the right side to plate Rodriguez, while a near Blazer baserunning mistake later in the play allowed Fisher to scamper home with the second run. Shane Taylor then followed with an RBI-groundout to stake DSU to a 3-1 lead.

The Bison got one of those runs back in the third, only to see Dixie State answer with a Will Chambers two-run single in the bottom of the stanza to extend the Blazer lead to 5-2.

North Dakota State managed to score another run in the fourth and cut the DSU lead to 5-4 with a run in and runners on the corners with no outs in the sixth.

However the Trailblazer defense stopped any further damage when Charley Hesse flew out to Fisher in right field, who then fired a strike to catcher Kaden Hollow at the plate to double off the Bison baserunner trying to score from third.
 
Hollow then threw out his fourth would-be base stealer of the series, and sixth of the season, when he cut down Peter Brookshaw at second base to the end inning.
 
NDSU, which stranded 13 baserunners on the day, mounted one more threat in the seventh, loading the bases with one out. Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer went to the bullpen and brought in sophomore reliever Ryan Hardman (S, 1), who struck out one and induced a foul out to send the game to the stretch.
 
DSU tacked on a big insurance run in the home seventh on an Ivancich two-out double, and Hardman retired six of the final seven Bison hitters he faced from there to close out the series win.
 
The Trailblazers pounded out 12 hits in the win, with Rodriguez collecting a career-high three safeties to go with two runs scored. Hollow, Ivancich and Leavitt also finished with two hits apiece.

Dixie State will head to the desert for a Tuesday midweek tilt at defending PAC-12 champion Arizona. First pitch in Tucson is slated for 6 p.m. (MT).