Dixie State’s Tyler Hollow Looks To Build On Strong Freshman Campaign With Pippins

Tyler Hollow just wrapped up his first season playing college baseball and despite finding success, he experienced the challenge of moving from high school baseball to the college level.

“Lots of people say it’s the same game and don’t get too overwhelmed but it’s really hard. The pitching is that much better, the hitters are that much better, the game speed was a lot faster than it was at high school,” he said. “I really like the challenge.”

Hollow played consistently for Dixie State in his first season. In 46 games for the Bisons he hit .350 with 15 RBI. He also showed fantastic plate discipline as he walked 14 times and struck out only 14 times.

“It was a good experience. It was very different from high school,” Hollow said. “The pace of the game is a lot faster but overall I liked it a lot. Our season didn’t go as great as we would have hoped it went, but I feel like I did alright. I’m looking forward to next fall to get back down there.”

Despite attending Dixie State in southern Utah, Hollow calls Boise home. Playing summer baseball a little closer to home was part of the reason why he made the decision to play for the Pippins.

“It’s also in the West Coast League which is a pretty known league around the colleges so I know that when I go [to the Pippins], I will be taken care of. The overall competition of the other teams, I’m excited to see how I fare against those guys,” he said.

Hollow also saw the support for the Pippins as another draw to the team.

“When my coach at Dixie State talked about how [the Pippins] have a consistent fanbase that comes out every day, that really got me excited because down at Dixie it’s a small tight community kind of like Yakima and there was a lot of alumni and other fans that came out every day, which I thought helped us play a lot better. Having a community that cares about how we play and how we look, I’m really excited for that.”

Hollow sees a lot that he can improve on during his time with the Pippins before returning to Dixie State in the fall.

“On the defensive side, I need to become better. I want to improve my speed and footwork,” he said. “We play a lot of games in a little amount of days, so I want to see if I can condition my body to take that wear and tear of playing every day. To see if I can stand that and to try and get better every day and through the summer.”

By Kevin Vallene

May 28, 2018