Game Times (Mountain):
Friday - 6 p.m.
Saturday (G1) - 2 p.m.
Saturday (G2) - 5 p.m. (approx)
Sunday - 1 p.m.
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | CAL POLY - PDF
Live Streaming:  GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3 | GAME #4
Live Stats: GAME #1 | GAME #2 | GAME #3 | GAME #4
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #WACbsb
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP #18 Brett Porthan (5-0, 3.90 ERA) vs. RHP #33 Drew Thorpe (3-0, 2.13 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – RHP #29 Dillon Holliday (2-3, 5.64 ERA) vs. LHP #34 Travis Weston (2-1, 5.51 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – RHP #30 Blake Milne (1-1, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP #36 Steven Brooks (0-1, 3.14 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – TBA vs. TBA

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (13-10/8-4 WAC) starts the second half of its 2022 season, and will close out its eight-game road swing, this weekend with a four-game, non-conference series at Cal Poly (14-10).
    Friday's series opener will start at 6 p.m. (PT), followed by a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. (PT), and the series finale on Sunday at 12 noon (PT), at Baggett Stadium (3,138) in San Luis Obispo.

ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's series at Cal Poly will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Mustangs on the diamond.

DIXIE STATE ON THE WEB: All Dixie State home games will be streamed live online on the WAC Digital Network (wacdigitalnetwork.com). In addition, all DSU WAC road games will be streamed on either the WDN or ESPN+. 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 is 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 291-170-1 (.631) overall record at DSU, and a 343-229-1 (.599) 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).

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers collected their fourth WAC series win of the season after taking two of three on the road at Seattle U last weekend in Bellevue, Wash. After opening the series with a 13-6 loss last Friday afternoon, Dixie State bounced back with a decisive 9-1 victory in game two on Saturday.
    After DSU fell behind 5-0 to begin Sunday's finale, the Blazers rallied for three runs in the third and six more in the eighth to take a 9-7 lead. Down to their final strike in the ninth inning, the Redhawks tied the game with a two-run homer to force extra innings. Dixie State managed to break the tie with two runs in the 12th and held on from there for the 11-9 series-clinching win.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Trailblazers have played to a 294-113 (.722) overall record in 407 games played inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era, including a 7-3 start this season.
    DSU began the 2022 season with the fourth-longest home winning streak in all of Division I, thanks in part to winning 12-straight at Bruce Hurst Field to finish the 2021 campaign with a 17-9 home mark.
    That streak reached 14-straight after the Blazers took the first two games in their 3-1 series win over North Dakota State. However the Bison snapped the streak with their lone win of the series (6-2) in game three, which also happed to be DSU's 400th NCAA game in its home park.
    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 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% in Pfatenhauer's tenure.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers boast a 162-161-1 overall road record (.501) in its four-year era. That road mark took a little bit of a hit in the program's D-I debut season last year (7-23), though the Blazers are off to a solid 6-7 start this 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 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 176-172-1 (.505) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.

ROCKIN' THE 'STACHE: Forget the "Fear The Beard" mantra, since Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer's arrival at Dixie State, his teams have created their own facial hair tradition - "Mustache March," and judging by past season results, it's been very effective.
    After the COVID-19 Pandemic spoiled a 4-0 start to March 2020, and after a 2021 hiatus, "Mustache March" returned for 2022 campaign.  
    Thanks to the power of the mustache, Dixie State has played to a 115-50 (.697) overall record in the month of March over the last 10 seasons, including a 9-7 mark this March, along with a 14-5 record in 2017 and a 19-2 record in March of 2014.
    
JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State's 24-32 overall record in its NCAA D-I debut season last year 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.
    That said, the Trailblazers did close out the 2021 season by winning 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).
    Prior to last 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 470-285-1 (.622) all-time through 15-plus years of NCAA competition (756 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.
    DSU improved to 8-3 vs. in-state opponents thanks to its series win over UVU to open WAC play (March 4-6).

ROUND AND ROUND: Dixie State has batted around five times in its last 15 games, including in the eighth inning of last Sunday's come-from-behind win at Seattle U. DSU sent 10 batters to the plate and came away with six runs to take a 9-7 lead.
    All five instances have come in WAC play, including two times in their WAC-opening series vs. Utah Valley (3/4-6), doing so in each of the first two games. The Trailblazers sent 10 batters to the plate and scored five runs in the third inning of game one, this after UVU did the exact same thing in the top half of the frame.
    Then in game two, the Blazers made a little history when, for the first time in the program's NCAA era, they sent 11-straight batters to the plate before the first out was recorded, and wound up scoring eight runs in the frame, including a grand slam off the bat of senior SS Mathew Ivancich.
    However that was not the first time DSU had 10 consecutive batters reach base safely in a game. The last instance also came at home in the 2014 season vs. Cal State LA (4/18/14), when Dixie State had 10-straight hitters reach with one out in a 10-run fourth inning of a 17-9 DSU win. DSU wound up sending 14 batters to the plate in that frame, which also featured a grand slam (Kris Kaplan).

HOLLOW ON PRESEASON WATCH LISTS: Sophomore catcher Kaden Hollow earned some early preseason attention leading into the 2022 campaign, and at the halfway point of the season, he has shown he is worthy of the hype.
    The sophomore backstop was voted to the WAC preseason all-conference team and was listed as one of the top-50 catchers in the nation by D1Baseball.com. In addition, he is on the 2022 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year watch list.
    Hollow (.351/3 HR/15 RBI) has hit better than .300 in five of DSU's first seven series this season, including a .500 clip (6-for-12) in the NM State series (3/18-20), which included a 4-for-5 day with two doubles and his second career grand slam in the G2 win. He wound up driving in seven runs in the series with four runs scored.
    Hollow, who is batting .375 and has driven in 12 of his 16 runs against WAC pitching, also hit an even .500 (5-for-10) vs. UVU (3/4-6), and .385 in the Sacramento State road series, where he went 5-for-13 with three doubles and three RBI.
    He opened the year with a .364 clip in three starts at Arizona State (2/18-20; 4-for-11) with three runs scored, highlighted by a 3-for-3 day with DSU's first (2R) homer of the season and two RBI in the series finale (2/20).
    Hollow has also done it on the defensive side, having thrown out a WAC-high 11 of 26 potential base stealers, including three vs. UVU, and four in the North Dakota State series (2/25-27). In fact, Hollow, who has 21 assists in 19 starts behind the plate this season, threw out five total base runners in the NDSU series as he erased a runner trying to advance on a wild pitch.  
    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.

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS:
* - Sophomore 3B Shane Taylor continued his early season tear as he hit .500 (5-for-10) with three walks and four runs scored in the NM State series (3/18-20) ... Taylor also clubbed his third homer of the year, a three-run blast over the batter's eye in straight away center field that capped DSU's six-run sixth inning in the series finale vs. the Aggies.   
* - Taylor opened the year batting .455 (5-for-11) with a double and three RBI in the Arizona State series, and followed that up with a .467 clip (7-for-15) in four starts vs. NDSU (2/25-27).
* - Taylor is currently fourth on the club in average (.330), and leads the team in hits (30), doubles (7), runs scored (20) and RBI (21), along with a co-team high three homers, all out of the lead-off spot.
* - In fact, the entire left side of the DSU infield has been arguably one of the best in the country offensively in the early going as Ivancich is fifth on the club with a .328 average with 17 RBI, 13 runs scored and a co-team high five SBs in 22 games ... Ivancich batted .375 (3-for-8) with his first triple as a Trailblazer and four RBI in two games at Seattle U last weekend.
* - Though it took him 288 career at-bats (383 PA) to do it, senior CF Jagun Leavitt finally hit his first collegiate home run, doing so in his first plate appearance vs. NDSU (2/25) ... After a lead-off walk, Leavitt launched a 3-2 pitch over the RF wall to stake DSU to a 2-0 third-inning lead ... Leavitt has also added a triple to his early-season stat line as he batted .444 in the UVU series with his three-bagger and two RBI.
* - Leavitt has been on a offensive tear over his last nine games, batting a combined .454 (10-for-22) over this current stretch, including an even .500 clip in the NM State series with three walks, three RBI and a team-high five runs scored in three starts ... the senior also batted a combined .417 (5-for-12) with three more walks and two runs scored last weekend at Seattle U.
* - Senior 2B Tyler Hollow (172) moved into seventh place on DSU's career hits list after he collected three hits in the Seattle U series ... Hollow also vaulted into t-sixth in career doubles with his 33rd career two-bagger in the UVU series (3/4-6), and batted an even .400 overall with two RBI in that three game set.
* - Freshman SS Ethan He collected his first collegiate hit and RBI with a run-scoring double in his Blazer debut in DSU's road win at Nevada (3/16) ... He also picked up another RBI-double later in the week in the series finale vs. NM State (3/20).     
* - Junior RF Tyson Fisher had a night in DSU's G2 win at Sacramento State (3/12) as he homered twice and drove in a career high six runs in the win ... Fisher clubbed a two-run HR in the second, and struck again with a three-run blast in the sixth.
* - Fisher's two-homer night was the first of his collegiate career, and was the 29th individual two-homer game in the program's NCAA era ... Fisher also became the 13th different player in the four-year era to drive in at least six runs.
* - Fisher went on to hit his 24th-career homer in G1 at Nevada (3/15) ... The junior's dinger moved into a tie for fourth place on DSU's career home run list with another Tyson - Tyson Littlewood (2009-12), who hit 24 over his four-year career ... Fisher now stands nine homers shy of breaking DSU's career HR record, which was set last year by former teammate Jake Engel (32 HR; 2017-21).
* - Sophomore OF/1B Chase Rodriguez was the 12th Blazer to add his name to the single-game RBI list after his banner day in the series opener vs. Utah Valley (3/4), against which he homered and drove in a career-high six runs in the victory ... Rodriguez did his damage with a two-run double, a 3R HR and an RBI ground out.
* - Like Leavitt, Rodriguez is also batting .454 (10-for-22) over the last two weeks (8 games) with three XBH and eight RBI ... C-Rod batted .625 (5-for-8) in two games vs. NM State, then after he legged out a three-run triple at CSUN (3/22), the sophomore hit a combined .364 in three games at Seattle U with a double and two more RBI.
* - Sophomore C/OF Parker Schmidt collected two hits in each of his three starts at Seattle U last weekend and batted .429 (6-for-14) in the series with three RBI, three runs and one stolen base.
* - Schmidt had himself a series vs. NM State, batting .357 (5-for-14) with a pair of doubles, four RBI and four runs scored ... he also threw out a potential base stealer in his start behind the plate in the series finale (3/20).
* - Sophomore OF Jack Walker enjoyed a breakout series at Seattle U last weekend, batting an even .500 (5-for-10) in two starts with an RBI, three runs and one stolen base ... Walker collected three of those hits in Saturday's G2 win, while his lone RBI in the set proved to be a big one as he drove in the eventual GW-run on a 12th-inning infield single.
* - Sophomore RHP Brett Porthan became the first Trailblazer since 2017 to open a season 5-0 after he earned the decision in the G2 win at Seattle U last Saturday ... Porthan fanned three and only allowed one run and five hits in 5.0 innings.
* - Former DSU hurler Dylan File opened the 2017 season 5-0, this after he began the 2016 campaign with a 4-0 start ... In addition, former DSU pitcher Tyson Bailey managed to start the 2009 season at 6-0, while former Blazer righthander Mason Hilty set the school's NCAA era record with a 9-0 start in 2016.
* - Porthan, who will start Friday's opener at Cal Poly, leads the staff with 26 strikeouts in 27.1 IP through six starts this season.
* - Sophomore RHP Dillon Holliday returned to form in the series opener vs. NM State (3/18), surrendering only one earned run (2R total) and seven hits over seven innings to earn his second win of the year.
* - After a rocky first inning, Holliday limited the Aggies to just five hits over his next six innings of work ... the sophomore righthander struck out three Aggie hitters from the first inning on, while the Blazer defense turned three double plays behind him in the first, third and sixth frames.
* - In fact, Dixie State's defense has turned a WAC-leading 25 double plays through 23 games this season, seven of which came in the NM State series, while DSU recorded five more last weekend at Seattle U.
* - DSU's 25 double plays unofficially ranks the Trailblazers t-third nationally, however DSU is not eligible to be listed in the NCAA rankings during its four-year transition to Division I status.
* - However on the flip side, DSU has hit into 22 twin killings to this point of the season, which is second in the WAC and t-10th (unofficially) nationally.
* - Freshman lefthander Justin Woodbury recorded a rare four-strikeout frame in the eighth inning the G1 vs. NM State (3/18) ... Woodbury fanned all four hitters he faced in the stanza, this after his second strikeout victim reached base on a wild pitch after a swinging third strike ... Woodbury only pitched two-thirds of an inning in the Seattle U series, though he did collect his sixth K in his eighth appearance (5.2 IP) overall this season.
* - Despite struggling in his first collegiate start in at Nevada on March 15, freshman RHP Jacob Taggart has proven that the college stage is not too big for him ... Taggart (19 K in 14.0 IP) has already turned in three dominant performances this season, two of which have come on the road against two PAC-12 heavyweights ... Taggart made his collegiate debut in the series finale at Arizona State (2/20), against which he struck out three in 1.1 innings of spotless relief.
* - Taggart followed that up with a career-high nine strikeouts over five shutout innings of one-hit relief at nationally-ranked Arizona (3/1) ... he struck out the side in the third and sixth innings, and induced a big double-play ball in the Wildcat fifth ... Taggart made his fourth appearance of the year in series finale vs. UVU (3/6), against which he struck five in 2.1 innings of one hit relief.
* - Sophomore RHP Ryan Hardman has emerged as the Trailblazers' stopper out of the bullpen ... he collected his third career save in the series opener vs. UVU (3/5) when he came on with one out in the eighth to get DSU out of a bases-loaded jam ... Hardman finished with three strikeouts in 1.2 IP to close out the game.  
* - That save marked the second-straight win Hardman had secured, and in the process, rescued the Blazers out bases-loaded situation ... the sophomore pulled the Houdini act in the NDSU series finale (2/27) when he came on in the seventh with the bases loaded and one out, and proceeded to record the final two outs of the frame in short order ... Hardman went on to retire six of the final seven Bison hitters he faced to close out the series win.
* - Hardman picked up the Blazers' first win of the 2022 campaign after he scattered one run and six hits over 4.2 innings of relief with four strikeouts in G2 at Arizona State (2/19) ... Hardman also collected the win in the finale at Sac State (3/13), striking out two in two innings of one-hit, one-run relief.  
* - Junior RHP Jake Dahle earned his first win as a Trailblazer in his start at Nevada (3/16) ... Dahle limited the high-powered Wolf Pack offense to just two runs and four hits over five innings complete with a strikeout.
* - Junior RHP Zach Thomas did it with his bat, and his arm, in DSU's series win at Seattle U last weekend ... Thomas, who has moved into a starting role at either first base/DH over the last couple weeks, hit safely and scored at least one run in all three games on his way to a .538 clip with two HRs, five RBI and five runs scored.
* - Thomas belted his first collegiate HR as part of a 2-for-5 day with two runs scored in Saturday's 9-1 win ... then he one-upped himself in Sunday's 11-9 extra inning triumph, when he went 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run HR, and finished with four RBI and two runs scored offensively ... then for good measure, he threw 3.0 of hitless relief and struck out two to earn the decision in DSU's 12-inning series clinching win.
* - Thomas' dual-threat also helped lead Dixie State to the win at Nevada (3/16) ... the junior started the Blazers' sixth-inning rally with a pinch-hit, lead-off triple and scored the team's first run ... he later doubled and scored another run in the seventh, then went out to the mound with a runner on in the home eighth and recorded three outs on four pitches to halt a potential Wolf Pack rally.  
 
FREE BASEBALL: After not playing an extra inning game in two full seasons in 2019 and 2020, Dixie State has played in eight extra inning affairs since its move to Division I, all of which have come over the Blazers' 50 games, including three already this season.  
    DSU improved to 2-1 in extra frames this season after last Sunday's 12-inning win at Seattle U, which marked the sixth time in the program's NCAA era that Dixie State played in a 12-inning contest (4-2).
    The Trailblazers are currently 4-4 in extra inning games as a D-I, which includes their 7-6 win in 10 innings in game two at Arizona State (2/19), along with the 2-1 loss in 10 innings at nationally-ranked Arizona (3/1).
    DSU saw its 52-straight game streak of not playing an extra inning game come to an end last season in the series opener at Tarleton State (L, 9-10, 4/1/21), and the Blazers finished the 2021 campaign with a 2-3 mark in extra innings.
    The Trailblazers are 35-19 (.648) in 54 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era, 17-9 in 10-inning games, and the program has won nine of its last 15 extra inning games overall.

ABOUT THE CAL POLY "MUSTANGS": Cal Poly (14-10) comes into this weekend's series on a bit of a roll, having won two-straight and seven of its last eight, which includes a weekend Big West series win at UC San Diego, and a 15-6 home victory over Santa Clara this past Tuesday night.
    Senior infielder Brooks Lee is the Mustangs' top offensive threat as he enters the weekend ranked 22nd-nationally with a .432 batting average. Lee also leads the club in XBH (19), including team highs of 14 doubles and four homers, to go with a team-best 29 RBI.
    Friday's game one starter, sophomore RHP Drew Thorpe, is no stranger to the Trailblazer coaching staff, having played high school baseball at Desert Hills HS in St. George. Thorpe is currently the NCAA D-I leader in strikeouts (66) and owns a 3-0 record with a 2.13 ERA, 0.75 WHiP, and a .172 opponent batting average.     
    As a team, Cal Poly is batting .278 and averaging 6.5 runs a game, while the Mustang pitching staff owns a 4.51 ERA and has struck out 243 (10.2 K/9) in 213.1 IP.  

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State returns to Bruce Hurst Field for four-straight games next week, beginning with a non-conference date against in-state rival BYU on Tuesday, April 5, at 5:05 p.m.