SB Weekly Preview: NCAA West Region 2

ST. GEORGE, Utah – Dixie State is fresh off their best season in school history and is making their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. They are tabbed with hosting privileges for the second straight year and third time in school history. DSU will host Great Northwest Conference tournament runner-up No. 7 Central Washington (28-17) at 3:30 p.m. in their opening game on Friday. All seven of the weekend's games will have live stats and live video streaming provided on DixieAthletics.com

NFCA Rankings
The Dixie State University softball team slipped one spot to No. 15 despite and idle week for the Red Storm in the NFCA Division II final poll of the 2014 regular season.

NCAA West Region Rankings and Tournament
Tournament Website – Http://www.dixieathletics.com/2014sbwest2

Fresh off its second consecutive Pacific West Conference Championship, the Dixie State softball team earned the No. 2 seed and the right to host one section of the this week's NCAA Division II West Regional Championship, which runs May 9-11 at Karl Brooks Field.
The Red Storm (44-8) are fresh off their best season in school history and are making their sixth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. They are tabbed with hosting privileges for the second straight year and third time in school history. DSU finished the season with the No. 1 batting average (.376) in the NCAA and a 21-game winning streak. DSU will host Great Northwest Conference tournament runner-up No. 7 Central Washington (28-17) at 3:30 p.m. in their opening game on Friday.

Kicking off the tournament will be California Collegiate Athletic Association tournament champion No. 3 Humboldt State (46-14) as they battle fellow CCAA member No. 6 UC San Diego (33-16) at 1:00 p.m.

The double-elimination tournament continues Saturday with one game matching Friday's winners, followed by two elimination games. Sunday 's schedule is slated for the championship game, with the chance of a second championship game if the remaining teams each have one loss.

Eight teams are selected for the tournament's first round, with the other four schools matching up at Seaside, Calif., home of No. 1 seed CSU Monterey Bay. Friday's first round games match No. 1 CSUMB (45-8) and No. 8 Western Oregon (33-21) and PWC Co-Champion No. 4 California Baptist (41-11) and No. 5 Sonoma State (37-20).
The winner from each site will advance to the West Region Super Regional, set for May 18-19 at a site to be determined. The winner of that tournament moves on to the NCAA Division II Softball Championships, scheduled for May 22-26 at the Moyers Sports Complex in Salem, Va., where it will contend for the national title against teams representing seven other regions.
NCAA West Region Championships First Round
May 9-11 at St. George, Utah (Dixie State, Host)

Friday, May 9
Game 1 - #3 Humboldt State vs. #6 UC San Diego, 1 p.m.
Game 2 - #2 Dixie State vs. #7 Central Washington, 3:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 10
Game 3 - Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 11 a.m.
Game 4 - Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2 (loser eliminated), 1:30 p.m.
Game 5 - Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3 (loser eliminated), 4 p.m.

Sunday, May 11
Game 6 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, Noon
Game 7 - Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5 (if remaining teams each have one loss), 2:30 p.m.

No. 2 Seed - Dixie State (44-8)
Back to Back Pacific West Conference Champs, the Red Storm return to the post season for the sixth consecutive season and hosting for the second straight year. DSU is riding a 21-game winning streak and winners of 27 of its last 28.

The Red Storm offense ranks No. 1 in the NCAA in batting average hitting a cool .376. DSU also is fifth in doubles per game (2.20), sixth in on base percentage (.437), seventh in scoring (7.40), seventh in win/loss percentage (.846), and ninth in slugging percentage (.555).
Nicole Chavez (Chino Hills, CA/Ayala High School) has her 27-game hitting streak ended in the last game of the year, but Courtney Sherwin (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain High School) enters with a 14-game streak. Sherwin has also reached base in 29 consecutive games and Chavez 28.

The pitching has been just as reliable as the offense. The Storm have a team ERA of 2.21 and allows opponents to bat just .258 against them. The one-two punch of Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, CA/Highland ), 20-6 record with a 1.91 ERA and Michelle Duncan (Gilbert, AZ/Gilbert High School), 15-1 record and 1.52 ERA, has guided the solid staff to the postseason.
DSU has an all-time record of 12-11 that includes a 10-8 record during the first round of West Region games and is 6-2 at home when hosting the first round. They are 8-3 all-time at home in the postseason.

No. 7 Seed - CENTRAL WASHINGTON (30-18)
Central Washington enters after losing in the if-necessary game of the GNAC Championship on May 3.
CWU hitting .313 as a team and they are led by Jill McDaniels and her .359 average, 11 home runs and 43 RBI, all team leaders. The team has 12 players that are hitting in the .300's. In the circle, the Wildcats are led by Maria Gau with a 19-8 record and a 2.95 ERA. Kiana Wood also has an 8-3 record and a 2.92 ERA.

DSU Series Record vs. CWU
Overall Series Record: 2-0 DSU
DSU Record in St. George: Never
DSU Record in Ellensburg, WA: Never
DSU Record at Neutral Sites: 2-0
DSU Record under Randy Simkins: 2-0
Longest DSU Win Streak: 2 (2/11/11-Present)
Longest CWU Win Streak: None
Largest DSU Margin of Victory: 4-1 (2/11/11 at Las Vegas, NV)
Largest CWU Margin of Victory: None
Most Runs Scored by DSU: 4 (2/11/11 at Las Vegas, NV)
Most Runs Scored by CWU: 2 (2/11/12 at Las Vegas, NV)

No. 3 Seed – HUMBOLDT STATE (46-14)
CCAA Tournament Champion, the Jacks have a potent offense that produced 72 team home runs. Dani Randall leads with 15, followed by Julie Pena with 13, and Tony Walker and Tiffany Hollingsworth with 10 each. They hit .313 as a team and have an ERA of 2.58 with Liz Perez (14-5, 2.31 ERA) and Katie Obbema (23-8, 2.34 ERA) shouldering over 330 innings.

DSU Series Record vs. HSU
Overall Series Record: 4-0 DSU
DSU Record in St. George: Never
DSU Record in Arcata: Never
DSU Record at Neutral Sites: 4-0
DSU Record under Randy Simkins: 3-0
Longest DSU Win Streak: 4 (4/3/09 - present)
Longest HSU Win Streak: None
Largest DSU Margin of Victory: 12-1 (4/1/11 at Turlock, CA)
Largest HSU Margin of Victory: None
Most Runs Scored by DSU: 17 (2/12/11 at Las Vegas, NV)
Most Runs Scored by HSU: 9 (2/12/11 at Las Vegas, NV)
No. 6 Seed – UC SAN DIEGO (33-16)
After making its fourth-straight appearance at the conference tournament and sixth overall, UCSD fell in the first two games to finish fourth at the CCAA Championships. The loss marked the first time since 2010 the Tritons weren't present on championship Sunday at the CCAA Tournament. UCSD finished second in 2011, first in '12 and second in '13 before taking fourth this season. The Tritons now hold a 9-9 all-time record at the league tournament. UCSD fell in the opener to Humboldt State 2-1, before suffering a setback against Cal State Monterey Bay 10-8 on day two. The 'Jacks went on to win the tournament for the third time in school history.
The team is hitting .326 and only has 12 home runs. But team speed is their forte and they will look to run you to death. They are 90-115 on the base path and will force you to make plays defensively. Callie Grant leads the team in hitting at .442 and a .476 OBP.
Triton pitchers Alexis Edwards has thrown 157 innings and has an 18-10 record with a 1.96 ERA. Jennifer Manual is 8-5 with a 2.83 ERA. They have a team ERA of 2.72 and opponents are hitting just .219.

DSU Series Record vs. UCSD
Overall Series Record: 4-7 UCSD
DSU Record in St. George: 0-0
DSU Record in San Diego: 0-3
DSU Record at Neutral Sites: 4-4
DSU Record under Randy Simkins: 2-5
Longest DSU Win Streak: 1 (last time 5/4/12)
Longest UCSD Win Streak: 2 (5/6/12 – present)
Largest DSU Margin of Victory: 5-0 (4/3/09 at Turlock, CA)
Largest UCSD Margin of Victory: 10-0 (5/6/12 at Seaside, CA)
Most Runs Scored by DSU: 8 (3/28/10 at Turlock, CA)
Most Runs Scored by UCSD: 10 (5/6/12 at Seaside, CA)

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