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Show WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2016 DIXIESUNNEWS.COM Storm jbsisjkjstil ! j tfi t , 71 . - 5 low outOLJ. s ! i! c -- Jew J I I Sophomore guard Trevor Hill eyes his defender on senior night against Concordia University in the Burns Arena An estimated crowd of 4,000 packed the arena to show support for the Storm s last home game of the season and to give a farewell to three seniors forward Mark Odgen Jr, guards Mason Sawyer, and Robbie Nielson BY PORTER LARSEN Pick up next PLarsenDSN week's issue to see how baseball fairs in its first PacWest Conference games. It was a storybook ending to the Dixie State University basketball season Saturday night as the Storm closed out the regular 7 season with a huge win against Pacific West 82-6- Conference frontrunner Concordia University. crowd of nearly 4,000 showed up for the final regular season game, and it was not disappointed as the Storm won their ninth consecutive game, clinching the No. 2 d seed and a bye in the PacWest tournament. In addition to it being the last home game, Storm A 4 season-hig- h first-roun- UPCOMING GAMES. DSU DraysonNews Men's basketball vs Cal BaptistDomimcan winner March 4 at 12 30 pm. Baseball vs California Baptist University March 4 at 4 and 7 p m Softball at Azusa Pacific University March 4 at 5 and 7 p m. Baseball vs California Baptist University March 5 at noon Softball at Azusa Pacific University March 5 at 1 and 3 pm. Softball vs. Hawaii Pacific University March 1 2 and 1 3 at noon and 2pm Baseball at Academy of Art March 13 at! and 4pm (PT) After two heartbreaking losses, Dixie State University baseball secured two wins of the four game series against the third ranked Colorado Mesa University over the weekend. Each game of the series was decided by just one run. Both losses came in the as the form of walk-off- s Mavericks scored gamewinning runs in each of the first two games of the scries. Sophomore pitcher Dylan File took the mound for the Storm, striking out eight batters and allowing just one run on four hits in his 7 23 on to the Bums Arena floor for the final time. Its always tough to say goodbye to those seniors, a head coach Jon teary-eye- d We finished said. Judkins on a high note, though, and now have an opportunity to do something special. I can't put in words how proud I am of this group. Forward Mark Ogden Jr., guard Mason Sawyer and guard Robbie Nielson were the seniors who were honored in a ceremony before tipoff of the pivotal PacWest matchup with the Eagles. Nielson had his best outing of the season, scoring a points on team-hig- h 17 shooting, 0 missing his career-hig- h just one bucket. by Ogden Jr. only attempted two field goals in the game, but he pulled down 1 1 rebounds, which tied him with Zach Robbins for the most rebounds in a single season in the DSU Division II era (266). One of his two shots was a monster alley-oo- p jam that had the home crowd buzzing in the waning moments. two-hand- ed Its obviously emotional knowing that its our last game here, said Ogden Jr., a business administration major from Spring Valley, California. The nerves kind of showed in the first half, but once we got into the locker room and got settled down, we really got baseball splits against BY DRAYSON BALL Baseball vs California Baptist University March 3 at p m. faithful bid farewell to the three seniors who stepped innings pitched. Despite the effort. File earned a no decision in the game. I was really happy with the way I pitched, said File, a criminal justice major from St. George. Knowing that I can shut down a team like that brings a lot of confidence. Junior outfielder Miles Bice drove home the lone run for the Storm on a single that scored redshirt senior infielder Sam Hall. With the game knotted up at one apiece, the game went to extra innings, in which the Mavericks loaded the bases and, with two outs, drove home the winning run, giving them the victory Our goal is to win each series we play, head coach Chris Pfatenhauer said. After losing a game like that, I always remind my players that you cant get the game back. You have to move forward. DSU struggled offensively in its second game as it was held scoreless until the seventh inning, in which it scored three runs to tie the game. After CMU took a 3 lead in the bottom of the eighth, redshirt junior outfielder Ryan Rodriguez doubled home the tying run. The final inning was equally disappointing as the previous game as the Mavericks scored the winning run on a double, landing them on top, The first five batters in the Storms lineup recorded nine of the 1 1 DSU hits in the affair. They also were responsible for driving in each of the four runs in the it going. Its awesome to go out like that. The Storm got it going indeed, as their lead with eight minutes left ballooned to as many as 18 in the final minutes. Sawyer, a psychology major from West Jordan, played a big role in that run as he reeled off eight straight points to match Nielsons 17 points and passed McKay Massey for third on DSUs singleseason made list in the process. Couldnt have asked for a better way to go out, Sawyer said. The crowd was great, and we made some pretty memorable plays down the stretch. Were not done yet, ' though. two-poi- nt all-ti- The sophomore guards continued to impress as Brandon Simisters shooting hand stayed hot, and Trevor Hill stuffed the stat sheet once again. Simister went 4 from distance en route to his night, and Hill finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists as he added the exclamation point with a ferocious baseline dunk over an Eagle defender. With the win, DSU moves to 18-- 8 on the season and awaits the winner of the Dominican University vs. California Baptist Univer3-- 14-poi- nt first-roun- d sity matchup. The No. 2 seed Storm are set to the PacWest tournament semi-finFriday at 12:30 p.m. in Irvine, California. tip-o- ff al CMU 3rd-rank- ed 2-- 1. I 4 4-- 5-- 4. game. It was tough to get over those two loses, Pfaten- - Redshirt junior infielder Drew McLaughlin turns a double play as he tags the Saint Martin University d runner out at second and throws to first Feb 21 The Storm split their series with Colorado Mesa University over the weekend, giving them a 1 2 record third-ranke- 2-- hauer said. After the losses, we set our goals at getting two wins, and we were able to do that. DSU got off to a quick start in game three of the series by scoring five runs in the first two innings of play. The Storm scored their final run in the fifth inning before locking down the 5 victory. It was heartbreaking that we lost two games we could have won, but its definitely a builder knowing that we can rally back 6-- see BASEBALL page 6 |