SB Weekly Preview: DSU welcomes Western New Mexico

MEDIA INFORMATION
Date	Fri., Feb. 14 \| 3:00 p.m. MT (DH) Sat., Feb. 15 \| 11:00 a.m. MT (DH)
Location	Karl Brooks Field -- St. George, UT
Tickets	Purchase Tickets
DSU Live Stats	DSU Live Stats
Twitter	@DixieAthletics #DixieSB
DIXIE STATE RED STORM
Record	5-2 / 0-0 PacWest
Ranking	#23 (NFCA)
Head Coach	Randy Simkins
	Career: 204-63 (6th year)
	DSU Record: 204-63 (6th year)
WESTERN NEW MEXICO
Record	1-4, 0-0 RMAC
Ranking	NR
Head Coach	Angela Corliss
	Record at WNMU: 36-73 (3rd year)

ST. GEORGE, Utah – After seven games last week, the Red Storm return home to take Western New Mexico University in a four game series at Karl Brooks Field. The games are scheduled for a Friday, Feb. 14 start at 3 p.m. and a Saturday, Feb. 15 start at 11 a.m. Live stats of the game will be available via DixieAtheltics.com.

Dixie State
After a home opener on Feb. 4 that saw the No. 23 ranked Red Storm split a pair of games with Montana State Billings, DSU rebounded with a 4-1 record at the Desert Stinger Tournament. The nemesis of the squad, CSU Dominguez Hills, downed the Red Storm 8-1 in 6 innings. After graduating several seniors from last years team, head coach Randy Simkins had several questions he needed answered. The first, would he be able to replace the on base prowess of Jaelle Judkins (Saint George, UT/Dixie High School) and second all the power and RBI in the middle of the lineup. Junior leftfielder Bailee Freeland (Ogden, UT/Bonneville High School), who has seen limited thus far in her career, has responded nicely to the challenge. She leads the team in hitting at .524. Retuners Courtney Sherwin (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain High School) (.455), Nicole Chavez (Chino Hills, CA/Ayala High School) (.429), Marla Reiter (Rolinda, CA/Central High School) (.423), and Courtney Hine (San Dimas, CA/San Dimas High School) (.389) have each stepped up to lead the young DSU squad.

Newcomer Brooklyn Beardshear (Tucson, AZ/Sahuaro) has been a pleasant surprise at plate and leads the team with 10 RBI while hitting in the fourth position. Freshman shortstop Josey Hartman (Mapleton, UT/Maple Mountain) finished the Desert Stinger with some key hits to help add some depth to the team.

In the circle, Simkins has turned to ace Michelle Duncan (Gilbert, AZ/Gilbert High School) to lead the staff and she has done that remarkably by posting a 1.09 ERA in four appearances. Veteran Mattie Snow (Tooele, UT/Tooele High School) picked her first win of the season over Montana State Billings on Feb. 4. The win was the first for DSU of the season and the 200^th of Randy Simkins career.

Newcomers in the circle are Beardshear who struggled in the opener against New Mexico Highlands, but has serious potential as the season progresses. Oregon State transfer Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, CA/Highland ) has been a nice addition thus far in the season, she has a 3.75 ERA in 9 1/3 innings, striking out nine while walking just three batters. The Red Storm pitching staff has a team ERA of 3.80.

The Red Storm are hitting .369 on the season and look like that offense will not be the issues this season. Many questions marks are still left unanswered for the DSU squad, but the potential for them is very high as they look to return to the NCAA postseason for the sixth straight season.

Western New Mexico
The Mustangs won their opener 2-1 at the Desert Stinger Tournament over Texas Permian Basin, but lost its last four games. They have a team ERA of 3.68 and are 1-4 overall. They faced five teams that combined for a 0.61 ERA and allowed only six runs. Domi Shone is the lone pitcher with a victory at 1-2 and a 3.44 ERA. The Mustangs are hitting .241 as a team and are led by Stephanie HIggins who is hitting .421 and Ricki Gentry who is hitting . 400. Mariah McDonald leads the team in RBI with three.

DSU Series Record vs. Western New Mexico
Overall Series Record: 1-0
DSU Record in St. George: 0-0
DSU Record in Silver City: 0-0
DSU Record at Neutral Sites: 1-0
DSU Record under Randy Simkins: 0-0
Longest DSU Win Streak: 1 (2009-Present)
Longest WNMU Win Streak: none
Largest DSU Margin of Victory: 2 (2009)
Largest WNMU Margin of Victory: none
Most Runs Scored by DSU: 5 (2009)
Most Runs Scored by WNMU: 3 (2009)

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