SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – It took the Saints 23 outs to record their first hit, with
Isaac Hegamin breaking up Dixie State's attempt at a no-hitter with a single in the eighth inning. Dixie State jumped on the Saints in the early goings to knock off SMU 4-1 in the season opener.
Saint Martin's had five different baserunners reach in the game before their first hit, with two coming on walks, an error, a dropped third strike and a hit-batsman. Hegamin singled through the left side to end the no-hitter bid with two outs in the eighth, and scored
Kahi Hirano to cut the score to 4-1. The Trailblazers managed to close out the ninth and used runs in the first, fifth and sixth to earn the victory.
The first two runs of the game came for DSU in the opening half inning. A sacrifice fly brought home one, before a two-out single scored the second. Dixie State managed to add on to their lead in the fifth inning, this time a sacrifice bunt, scoring the unearned run. The final blow came in the sixth in the form of a solo home run to left field, widening the gap to 4-0.
Saint Martin's had runners reach in the first, fourth, fifth, and seventh inning. The Saints first prime opportunity came in the fourth, when an error, followed by a walk put runners on first and second and nobody out. Despite having the heart of the order up,
Austin Feist,
Ryan Colvin, and
Cody Chavis went down in order with two strikeouts and a foul out.
In the eighth inning,
Hunter Holmason earned a walk with two outs, and then was lifted for the pinch runner in Hirano. Hirano advanced to second on a ground ball, then moved up 90 feet on a pass ball, setting up Hegamin. The sophomore singled through the left side to plate the first run of the season for SMU and trim the lead to 4-1.
Aaron Shoup (0-1) got the start on the mound, tossing five innings, allowing three runs, two earned, while punching out eight batters.
Zach Alcos came in for relief for the Saints, and managed to go the rest of way. In four innings of work, Alcos only allowed the solo home run, and struck out four Trailblazers in his NCAA debut. Combined Shoup and Alcos only allowed five hits, and struck out 12 batters.
The Saints face Cal State San Bernardino next to conclude their doubleheader on the day. Live stats can be found on smusaints.com.
