Dixie State baseball: Trailblazers beat rival BYU 7-5, prepare to host weekend series against WAC leaders

ST. GEORGE — The baseball team at Dixie State University picked up a momentum-building 7-5 home win over state rival Brigham Young University Tuesday evening at Bruce Hurst Field.

The victory evened Dixie State’s record at 14-14. More importantly, the win snapped a four-game losing streak. BYU slipped to 14-12 with the defeat.

Jake Dahle was the winning pitcher for the Trailblazers. The junior righthander scattered six hits with four strikeouts and two runs allowed in his five-plus innings of work.

The Blazers were led at the plate by Kaden Hollow, who hit a home run and drove in three runs for the winners.

Back-to-back walks helped Dixie State take a 2-0 advantage in the third frame.

Dixie State pitcher Jake Dahle (second from left) is congratulated after retiring BYU in the first inning of a nonconference baseball game, St. George, Utah, April 5, 2022 | Photo by E. George Goold, St. George News

BYU scored to cut the lead in half, but in the fifth inning the Blazers tallied four more times to take a 6-1 lead they would never relinquish.

Hollow’s two-run blast over the wall in straightaway center field was the big hit in Dixie State’s four-run rally. It was Hollow’s team-leading fourth home run of the season.

BYU cut its deficit in half, 6-3, with back-to-back solo home runs from Brock Watkins and Ryan Sepede in the top of the sixth.

A sacrifice fly plated a runner for Dixie in the bottom half of the frame, bringing the score to 7-3.

The Cougars struck again in the eighth and ninth with back-to-back bombs. The solo homers came off the bats of Sepede and Jacob Wilk.

BYU brought the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth, but Trailblazers reliever Zach Thomas got Watkins to hit into a groundout to end the game.

Hollow and Chase Rodriguez each had two hits to lead Dixie State. BYU outhit the Trailblazers 13-9, but Cougars pitchers also issued five walks to help the home team’s cause.

According to a press release, the announced attendance of 1,951 fans at Bruce Hurst Field set an all-time Dixie State record in the NCAA era.

The win was a shot in the arm for the Blazers, who next host a big three-game weekend series against Western Athletic Conference West Division leader Grand Canyon University.

Dixie State (8-4 WAC) is two games behind Grand Canyon (10-2) in the conference standings.

The first pitch against the Lopes is scheduled at Bruce Hurst Field for 6 p.m. Friday. Click here for ticket information.

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