DIXIE STATE 8 UTAH VALLEY 0
UVSC 000 000 00 - 0 5 1
DIXIE 103 030 01 - 8 6 0
Quai, Giles-5, Gardner-7, and Weingarten.
Horlacher and Udy. WP-Horlacher (9-1).
Lp-Quai (8-3). 2b: Hickman-D, Udy-D.
ST. GEORGE - Dave Horlacher threw a five-hit shutout to give Dixie State College an 8-0 win over Utah Valley State College at the Region 18 Tournament Friday.
The win put Dixie State in Saturday's championship game. The Rebels will play either Utah Valley again or Southern Idaho at 1:00 PM. Utah Valley and Southern Idaho play each other in a "loser out" game at 10:00 AM Saturday. Should the winner of that game beat Dixie at 1:00, an "if necessary" would follow 30 minutes after..
Horlacher allowed a runner past second only once. That came in the fourth, when Apana Nakayama was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on a Mike Weingarten single. Left fielder Danny Wright threw a perfect strike to the plate to nail Nakayama..
Dixie managed only six hits off UVSC pitchers Josh Quai, Beau Giles, and Chris Gardner. But the Rebels got the key knocks. Jake Jordison's two-out bases-loaded single in the third, coupled with a UVSC throwing error, produced three runs to put Dixie up 4-0. The Rebels scored three more in the fifth, with Wick Udy getting a key two-run double. The game was called in the eighth on the eight-run rule when Matt Hickman doubled home Brock Jacobsen..
Horlacher improved to 9-1 on the year. Quai took the loss for UVSC, slipping to 8-3. The tournament winner will advance to next week's District Playoffs in Arizona or Nevada.