ST. GEORGE – No. 22 Dixie State pushed its winning streak to five games after taking both ends of a Saturday Pacific West Conference doubleheader from Concordia-Irvine, 12-4 and 5-3, at Bruce Hurst Field.
The Trailblazers (17-4/6-1 PacWest) led 10-0 after the first four innings of game one, which was jump started by a three-run first-inning thanks to an Eagle fielding error and RBIs from Logan Porter and Cam Gust.
DSU would tack on two more runs in the second before erupting for four runs in the third. Gust tripled home two in the frame, and then came home on a Wyatt Branch double, which was followed by a Reece Lucero RBI-single. Porter then padded the Trailblazer advantage with a two-run double in the fourth.
The run support was more than enough for senior right-hander Mason Hilty (W, 5-1), who limited CUI (5-13/2-6 PacWest) to just three hits over his first five innings of work. However, the Eagles would solve Hilty in the sixth as Bailey Collins tripled home a pair of runs to cut the deficit to 10-2.
Porter got both of those runs back in the home half of the frame when he connected for his team-leading sixth home run of the season, a two-run blast to left field that gave DSU its double-digit advantage back, and the Trailblazers coasted home from there to claim the win.
Porter finished with a career-high tying five RBI in the opener as he went 3 for 3 with two runs scored, while Tyler Mildenberg also collected three hits and three runs scored as DSU outhit CUI 14-7. Hilty struck out four and scattered seven hits and three runs in seven innings to win for the fifth time in six starts overall.
Dixie State picked up right where it left off to begin the seven-inning nightcap as the Trailblazers took advantage of two Concordia-Irvine errors to take an early 2-0 lead. Mildenberg drove in a run on a ground out and Porter collected another RBI with a single later in the frame.
Meanwhile, junior southpaw Matt Mosca (W, 4-1) fired five scoreless innings and limited the Eagles to just two hits and four total baserunners over that stretch. Porter would extend Dixie State’s lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth as he connected for a two-run double to left field.
Those two runs proved to be difference as Concordia-Irvine led off the sixth with consecutive singles off of Mosca. Mosca came back to strike out the final batter he would face on the day, but the Eagles would load the bases one hitter later against the DSU bullpen. CUI then broke through with a run-scoring fly out ahead of a two-run double from Hunter Holland, which drew the Eagles to within a run at 4-3.
CUI pinch hitter Dane Vande Guchte then stepped up and lined a sharp single to centerfield and pinch runner Ryan Land was waved around third carrying the tying run. But Trailblazer centerfielder Trey Kamachi fired a strike to Lucero to cut down Land at the plate to preserve the one-run lead.
Dixie State would push across a critical insurance run in the home sixth as Kamachi drew a bases-loaded walk with two outs that extended the DSU lead to 5-3. Trailblazer reliever Tanner Howell (S, 2) then came on and pitched a spotless seventh to close out the game.
Porter, who finished with eight RBIs on the day overall, collected two more hits and three RBIs to lead DSU offensively. Mosca fanned a season-high seven, including striking out the side in order in the third, and surrendered four hits and two runs in 5.1 innings to pick up his fourth win of the year.
DSU and CUI will wrap up their four-game set with the series finale Sunday at 12 noon at Bruce Hurst Field.
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