ST. GEORGE, Utah -- No. 20-ranked Dixie State exploded for nine runs in the first inning of Saturday's doubleheader opener, and Azusa Pacific dropped both games Saturday after splitting Friday's doubleheader which opened the four-game series.

Thanks mostly to its nine-run outburst, Dixie State cruised to an 11-2 win in five innings in the opener before picking up a 4-3 walkoff win in the bottom of the seventh after the Cougars had tied the game at 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning. Illiana Jimenez was Azusa Pacific's offensive leader on the day, going 3-for-6 from the leadoff spot.

The sweep elevates Dixie State into a virtual tie for second place in the Pacific West Conference, while Azusa Pacific drops to fourth in the conference at 20-11 overall and 12-6 in PacWest play. Dixie State is now 30-8 overall, 15-5 PacWest, and the Red Storm sit three games behind PacWest-leading California Baptist, which has reeled off 16 consecutive wins after Azusa Pacific swept the Lancers on Feb. 28. The Cougars return to action on Wednesday, March 29, hosting third-place Concordia in a 4 p.m. doubleheader.

GAME 1 (5 innings): Dixie State 11, Azusa Pacific 2

Azusa Pacific got the start it wanted in Saturday's doubleheader, scoring in the top of the first of the opener to take an early 1-0 lead. The first three batters of the game all reached safely, but Illiana Jimenez was thrown out at home trying to score on a Nicki Sprague single, and Cayla Broussard scored on a fielder's choice groundout as Dixie State escaped major damage in the first.

Dixie State answered by sending 14 batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, resulting in a nine-run frame which included seven hits, three walks, and an error. Even the Red Storm outs were productive, as Jessica Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly for the first out of the inning in her first plate appearance and drove in another run on a groundout back to the pitcher in her second plate appearance of the inning.

After Dixie State added two more runs in the second inning, with help from three Azusa Pacific errors. the Cougars got one run back in the third when Jimenez led off with a single and eventually scored on a Kayla Jimenez sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 11-2. That fly out was the first of eight consecutive Cougars retired by Dixie State pitcher Alexis Barkwell to end the game after five innings.

GAME 2: Dixie State 4, Azusa Pacific 3

Azusa Pacific scored first in all four games of the weekend series, including the series finale when Kayla Jimenez hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the top of third. However, Dixie State scored three runs in the fourth, with the first two coming on Dani Bartholf's two-run double before Bartholf later scored on a wild pitch to give the Red Storm a 3-1 advantage.

Kayla Jimenez hit a fifth-inning RBI single to pull the Cougars within a run, 3-2. She also led off the seventh with a single and eventually scored the tying run on an Erinn Jaramillo sacrifice fly, finishing the game 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Dixie State's first two batters in the bottom of the seventh lined out and popped out, but a two-out walk was followed by a steal and a walkoff double from Bailey Gaffin to end the game.