Despite a furious late-inning rally, Dixie State dropped the final game of its WAC home series to New Mexico State by a 9-8 count on Sunday afternoon at Bruce Hurst Field. The Trailblazers wound up taking two of three in the series to move to 11-8 overall, 6-3 in WAC play.
 
NM State (10-8/2-4 WAC) pounced on the Blazers from the get-go, scoring runs in each of its first three offensive frames to race out to a 6-0 lead after three complete.
 
Aggie righthander Ian Mejia (ND) made that early lead stand as he limited DSU to just three hits and struck out over five innings of work.
 
Still trailing by that 6-0 score through the Aggie sixth inning, Dixie State got a little help from Mother Nature as the game was delayed for 48 minutes due to lightning and the threat of rain in the St. George area.
 
When play resumed, NM State pulled Mejia in favor of reliever Noah Estrella, who quickly retired the first two hitters he faced to open the home sixth. However the wheels quickly came off for the Aggies as the next six Trailblazers reached base, and all six wound up scoring, as DSU erased the deficit to tie the game at 6-6.
 
Chase Rodriguez started the rally with an opposite field single to left field, while pinch hitter Jack Walker matched his name by drawing a walk. Parker Schmidt followed with single to center to chase home Rodriguez carrying DSU's first run of the day.
 
Ethan He then reached when he was plunked on an 0-2 pitch to load the bases, which brought up Jagun Leavitt, who singled to right field to drive in both Walker and Schmidt to cut the deficit to 6-3.
 
NM State went back to the bullpen and brought in Lyle Hibbits (W, 1-0), who quickly put DSU lead-off hitter Shane Taylor in an 0-2 hole. However Taylor did not miss on the Aggie reliever's next offering as he drilled well over the hitter's eye in straight away center for a three-run home run to pull the Blazers even.
 
New Mexico State countered with an Edwin Martinez-Pagaini solo homer in the seventh, and tacked on another run in the eighth to regain the lead at 8-6.
 
DSU answered with a He RBI-double with one out in the Blazer eighth to make it an 8-7 game. Then after another Aggie pitching change, Leavitt walked and Taylor singled to again load the bases. However NM State's Alex Bustamonte (S, 2) managed to strike out the next two Trailblazers he faced to end the DSU threat.
 
After Aggie Ryan Grabosch designated hitter led off the ninth with a homer to push the NM State lead back to two runs, the Trailblazers mounted one last charge in their final swings.
 
Rodriguez reached on a one out single and after Bustamonte recorded the second out, Schmidt laced an 0-1 pitch over the head of right fielder Tommy Tabak. The ball reached the outfield wall and by the time Tabak fired it back to the diamond, Rodriguez scored and Schmidt pulled into second with a double.
 
He then hit a sharp ground ball to Aggie shortstop Brandon Dieter, who initially lost the handle on the ball, but quickly recovered and fired a strike across the diamond to beat He by a half-step to end the game.
 
Rodriguez finished with a career-high four hits as the sophomore outfielder went 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Meanwhile Taylor racked up three hits on the afternoon and Schmidt tallied two safeties and two RBI, as DSU rapped out 12 hits overall.
 
Dixie State will now begin a stretch that will see the Trailblazers play eight-straight road games, beginning with a Tuesday afternoon tilt at CSUN beginning at 3 p.m. (PT), in Northridge, Calif.