ST. GEORGE – For the sixth-straight season, Dixie State University has earned an NCAA Division II Baseball tournament berth as the 2017 tournament field was announced Sunday night.
The Trailblazers (37-12-1) were awarded the West Region’s No. 3 seed in the six-team regional field and will face No. 4 seed UC San Diego (36-17) this Thursday at 7 p.m. (PT), in Azusa, Calif. All West regional games will be played at Cougar Baseball Complex on the campus of the host school and No. 2-seed Azusa Pacific University.
Dixie State, along with APU and No. 5-seed California Baptist, will represent the Pacific West Conference in this year’s West Regional field, while the other three schools hail from the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). CBU (34-16) will play Azusa Pacific (40-10) Thursday at 11 a.m. (PT), while top-seed Chico State (45-9) will square off against two-time defending West Region champion Cal Poly Pomona (33-20) Thursday at 3 p.m. (PT).
The tourney will continue through Monday, May 22, with the winner advancing on to the 2017 NCAA Division II College World Series, which will be played May 27 through June 3 in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Dixie State’s current streak of six-straight regional appearances is currently the longest active streak in the West Region, while the No. 3-seed designation is the second-highest seed in program history. DSU was awarded a program-best No. 2 seed in its first regional appearance in 2012 and again in 2016, while DSU was the No. 3 seed in 2013, the No. 5 seed in 2014, and the No. 4 seed 2015.
Overall, Dixie State is 7-10 in 17 NCAA postseason games, including a 2-2 record in 2016, and a 3-2 mark in its debut season in 2012 when the program came within one win of advancing to the NCAA D-II World Series.
DSU finished the 2017 regular season with 37 wins, the second-most regular season wins in program history (38 in 2016) en route to a 37-12-1 overall record, which included a 26-9-1 mark and a runner-up finish in PacWest play behind conference champion APU (27-9).
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