No. 18 Dixie State picked up its first Pacific West Conference series win of the 2017 season in convincing fashion as the Trailblazers swept Holy Names in a Sunday doubleheader at Bruce Hurst Field. DSU (14-4, 3-1 PacWest) posted a season high in runs and tied a school record for hits en route to a 23-5 rout of the Hawks in game one and completed the series win with a 7-3 triumph in the seven-inning finale.
In game one, HNU (4-13, 1-3 PacWest) jumped out to a quick 2-0 first-inning lead on the strength of a two-run home run from Nick Snyder off DSU starter Mason Hilty. Dixie State answered with a second-inning run on a Tyler Mildenberg RBI single, but the Hawks got that run back thanks to a third-inning throwing error to extend to a 3-1 advantage.
That lead was short-lived as Dixie State erupted for 22 runs in the middle three innings, starting with an eight-run fourth frame to bolt to a 9-3 lead. Mildenberg drove in two of the runs on an opposite-field single to left, while Bryce Feist and Tyler Baker each doubled in runs as six Trailblazers in all picked up RBIs in the seven-hit frame.
DSU blew the game wide open with six more runs in the fifth, followed by another eight-run stanza in the sixth. Meanwhile, Hilty (W, 4-1), the reigning PacWest and West Region pitcher of the week, settled in after his first-inning hiccup as he limited the Hawks to just one unearned run and two hits in his final five innings of work. Hilty retired 10 of the final 11 HNU hitters he faced and struck out seven overall to pick up his fourth win in five starts on the season.
The Trailblazers finished with a school-record-tying 24 hits as all nine DSU starters had at least one hit — eight of which had two or more safeties — including a 5-for-5 day with four RBIs and three runs scored for Mildenberg. In addition, Logan Porter went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored, and Jake Engel picked up his first two collegiate hits and drove in three runs.
DSU’s 24 hits tied the program’s existing NCAA era record, which was set at Cal State Los Angeles during the 2013 season. Meanwhile, the 23 runs scored were the most in a single game under head coach Chris Pfatenhauer and tied for the third-highest run total in the program’s four-year era. The 23 runs were also the most runs scored in a game in nearly 10 years as DSU last scored 23 runs in a win vs. Grand Canyon back on April 30, 2008.
In the finale, the Hawks again took an early lead thanks to a Snyder first-inning RBI single. Dixie State countered with two runs of its own in the home half of the frame on a Trey Kamachi RBI double and a Porter run-scoring single, which plated Kamachi and gave DSU a 2-1 lead.
The Trailblazers then erupted for four runs in the fourth as Porter struck again for a two-run double, and Feist brought Porter around to score two batters later with his first home run of the season, which staked DSU to a 6-1 advantage.
Sophomore righthander Preston Hannay (W, 2-0) settled down after a rough first inning as he retired 12-straight Hawk hitters after a surrendering a leadoff walk in the second inning. HNU pulled to within 6-3 with two runs in the sixth, but Trailblazer closer Tyler Burdett (S, 3) recorded the final five outs of the game to wrap up the series win.
Porter capped off his perfect day with another 3-for-3 effort with two doubles and three more RBIs in the nightcap, while Hannay fanned five and scattered two hits and two runs in his five innings of work.
Dixie State closes its season-long 22-game homestand next weekend as the Trailblazers welcome Concordia-Irvine for a four-game PacWest series March 10-12, at Bruce Hurst Field.
Steve Johnson is the Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations and Collegiate Licensing at Dixie State University. For more DSU Athletics news, please visit www.dixieathletics.com and follow Dixie State on Twitter at @DixieAthletics.