AZUSA, Calif. – UC San Diego beat Dixie State, 8-6, on Monday to win the West Region championship and advance to the DII College World Series. The Tritons beat the Trailblazers for the second time to finish the regional 4-0.
UC San Diego built a 6-0 lead with three runs each in the third and fifth innings. Dixie State chipped away with four runs over the next three innings.
Mile Bice hit a two-out single to center field in in the sixth inning to score two. Three straight-singles in the seventh inning plated another run, with
Trey Kamachi providing the RBI. In the eighth inning,
Reece Lucero grounded out to third to bring home the fourth run and pull Dixie State within two.
In the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Shirley hit a two-run home run to left field to pad the Tritons’ cushion back to four runs. Those runs proved crucial as the Trailblazers put together a rally in their final at-bat. A single by
Tyler Baker and a double by Kamachi put runners on second and third with one out. After a three-pitch strikeout,
Tyler Mildenberg singled to right field, scoring both runners.
Jerome Hill II hit a grounder deep in the hole at short and beat the low throw to first, and Mildenberg advanced to third as the ball bounced away from the first baseman.
Miles Bice came to the plate as the potential go-ahead run, but he lined out to center field, ending the threat and the regional.
Dixie State ended the season 39-14-1, the second-most wins in program history.