Dixie State Red Storm (17-7, 5-3 PacWest) at:
Notre Dame de Namur (5-10, 4-6 PacWest) Wednesday/Thursday
Dominican (10-15, 8-6 PacWest) Saturday
Chico State (16-6, 13-5 CCAA) Sunday
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Game Times (Mountain):
Wednesday - 2 p.m., 4 p.m. (Belmont, California)Â
Thursday - Â 2 p.m., 4 p.m. (San Mateo, California)
Saturday - 1 p.m., 3 p.m. (San Rafael, California)
Sunday - Noon, 2 p.m. (Chico, California)
Live Stats: NDNU , Dominican ,Â
Chico StateLive Video: Chico StateTwitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieSBAfter a four-game weekend series at home, the No. 19 Dixie State softball team is back on the road this week for a stretch of eight games in five days in Northern California.
The Red Storm (17-7, 5-3 PacWest) will travel to Belmont, California for a doubleheader vs. Notre Dame de Namur starting at 2 p.m. Mountain Time on Wednesday, followed by another doubleheader vs. NDNU at 2 p.m. MT on Thursday. The Thursday doubleheader will be played at the College of San Mateo in nearby San Mateo, California, due to field conditions at NDNU.
DSU will head to San Rafael, California, for a doubleheader at Dominican at 1 p.m. MT on Saturday. The Storm will close the trip on Sunday with a non-conference doubleheader at Chico State in Chico, California, starting at Noon MT.
ALL-TIME VS. NDNU: Wednesday's series-opening game marks the 28th meeting between Dixie State and Notre Dame de Namur. The teams first met on Feb. 15, 2008, at the Division II Leadoff Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. The Storm won the inaugural matchup, 5-0. NDNU earned its first victory in the series later that year on April 12 in St. George, a 6-2 victory. The Argonauts strung together a three-game win streak from 2013 to 2014, but since then, DSU has won the last three matchups and holds a 23-4 lead in the series, including a 5-1 mark at NDNU.
ALL-TIME VS. DOMINICAN: Saturday's series-opening game marks the 21st meeting between Dixie State and Dominican. The teams first met on April 21, 2010, in San Rafael, California. DSU won the inaugural matchup, 21-0, and has not dropped a game to the Penguins. The Storm hold a 20-0 series lead, including 10-0 mark in San Rafael.
ALL-TIME VS. CHICO STATE: Sunday's series-opening game marks the fifth meeting between Dixie State and Chico State, and marks the first time in the series a game will be played on one of the teams' home field.  The teams first met on Feb. 15, 2008, at the Division II Leadoff Classic in Phoenix, Arizona. DSU won the inaugural matchup, 4-3. The Wildcats responded with back-to-back series wins in 2010, including a 4-3 victory over the Storm in the NCAA West Regional Championship in Rohnert Park, California. The Red Storm won the most recent matchup, 1-0, on March 30, 2012, at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California. The series is currently tied at 2-2.
KNOW YOUR FOE: NDNU enters the four-game series with a 5-10 overall record and 4-6 mark in Pacific West Conference play. The Argonauts have recorded PacWest wins over Hawai'i Pacific (2) and BYU-Hawaii (2) and are led by sophomore infielder Toni Cardoza (.404/4 RBI).
Dominican enters the week with a 10-15 overall record an 8-6 mark in the PacWest. The Penguins have recorded conference wins over Concordia, Hawai'i Hilo, Chaminade (2), Hawai'i Pacific, and BYU-Hawaii (3). DUC is led by junior infielder Catlyn Cavender (.351/8 RBI/2 HR), senior outfielder Tori Johnson (.333/5 RBI), and freshman infielder Dahlen Dennis (.325/10 RBI/4 HR).
Chico State enters the week with a 16-6 overall record and a 13-5 mark in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The Wildcats are riding a six-game win streak and are led by freshman outfielder Megan Bowley (.421/6 RBI) and senior infielder Desiree Gonzalez (.397/19 RBI/2 HR).
LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State earned a four-game sweep over Hawai'i Pacific last week, taking both games of a doubleheader on Saturday and Sunday.
Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) led the way at the plate, batting .667 (10-of-15) for the week with four RBI. Bassett went 3-for-3 with two RBI in a 13-1, five-inning victory over the Sharks in Game One on Saturday and followed that up with a 4-for-5, two RBI performance in Game Two, driving in the tying run in the bottom of the seventh. Â
Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS) was also a big contributor, batting .455 (5-of-11) with six RBI and a home run. Gonzalez hit a game-winning, walk-off home run in Game Two on Saturday and went 2-for-3 with two RBI in Game One on Sunday. She capped the weekend with a game-winning, walk-off RBI double in Game Two on Sunday to complete the series sweep of HPU.Â
Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, Calif./Highland HS) led the way in the pitcher's circle, going 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA. She struck out 18 batters and walked just three in 14.1 innings pitched, appearing in three of the four games.
PACWEST THREE-PEAT AND NATIONAL-RUNNERS UP: Dixie State won its third consecutive Pacific West Conference championship and made its second consecutive trip to the Division II College World Series in 2015. The Red Storm recorded a program-best 52-8 overall record, hosting and winning both the NCAA West and NCAA West Super Regionals and earning a trip to the Division II College World Series. DSU won its first three games at the College World Series and fell 5-0 to North Georgia in the National Championship game.
PRESEASON RANKINGS AND HONORS:Â Dixie State enters the 2016 season ranked at No. 2 in the NFCA Division II Preseason Coaches Poll. The Red Storm were also the unanimous choice to repeat as PacWest champions. Senior pitcher Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, Calif./Highland HS) was named PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year, while sophomore outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS), junior infielder Mallory Paulson (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument HS), and junior utility infielder Brookyln Beardshear also received All-PacWest preseason honors. Additionally, Bassett and Feickert were named to the 2016 NFCA Schutt Sports Division II Player of the Year Watch List.
THE SIMKINS FILE: Randy Simkins is in his eighth year as the Dixie State head softball coach in 2016, after a stint as head coach at DSU while competing in the junior college ranks. He led Dixie State to a program-best 49-6 record in 2004 while the school competed as a NJCAA program. In 2015, the Red Strom squad recorded the most wins as a Division II program with 52 victories. Simkins has accumulated 302 victories to just 79 losses for a winning percentage of .793 in seven seasons as head coach. Simkins has led DSU to four PacWest championships, two West Region championships, two consecutive trips to the College World Series, and a national-runner up finish.
2016 ROSTER: Dixie State returns seven starters from last year, led by senior Pitcher Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, Calif./Highland HS). A second-team All-PacWest selection last season, Feickert posted a 20-5 record and a 2.18 ERA with 146 strikeouts, the second-most in the conference. She earned PacWest Pitcher of the Week and Daktronics All-West Region Second Team honors and threw a perfect game against Academy of Art. Two other seniors return for the 2016 season in catcher Autumn Woodfall (Kaysville, Utah/Davis HS) and outfielder Kristie Johnson (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral HS).
The Red Storm return four juniors from last year's squad, led by infielder Mallory Paulson (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) and pitcher/infielder Brooklyn Beardshear (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro HS). Paulson earned Third Team All-PacWest honors, batting .301 with 47 hits, six home runs, and 24 RBIs, while Beardshear earned First Team All-PacWest honors, batting .356 with 36 hits, six home runs, and 40 RBIs. As a pitcher, she recorded nine strikeouts with a 2.36 ERA.
Sophomore outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) also returns to anchor the Red Storm outfield. Bassett earned PacWest Conference Freshman of the Year, PacWest First Team, All-Region First Team, All-America First Team, and NFCA Freshman of the Year honors last season, batting .449 with 83 hits and 30 RBIs.
Joining Bassett is junior outfielder Shelby Yung (Upland, Calif./Upland HS), who joins Dixie State after two seasons at Pace University in New York City. As a sophomore at Pace Yung batted .444 with 40 hits, five home runs, and 15 RBI. She earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. As a freshman she batted .414 with 53 hits and seven RBI, and earned conference Freshman of the Year, First Team All-Conference, and First Team All-Region honors.
Seven freshman look to compete for playing time as Dani Bartholf (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert HS), Kaitlyn Delange (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View HS), Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS), Summer Simkins (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS), Taylor Godfrey (Buckeye, Ariz./Estrella Foothills HS), Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS), and Alexandria Melendez (Moreno Valley, Calif./Valley View HS) join the team for the new season. Redshirt freshman Alexis Barkwell (San Diego, Calif./North Medford HS) also returns in 2016.
UP NEXT: The Storm return to Karl Brooks field for a doubleheader vs. Chaminade next Wednesday at 3 p.m. Â
