Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics

Softball 5/3/2016 1:30:00 PM By DSU Athletics Media Relations

Softball opens West Regionals Thursday vs. Central Washington

Trailblazers tied with Sonoma State for longest current streak of West Regional appearances

Dixie State Trailblazers (36-13, 24-8 PacWest) at:
West 2 Regional - May 5-7, 2016
Azusa, California

Game Times (Mountain):

Thursday: No. 7 Dixie State vs. No. 2 Central Washington - Noon
No. 6. UC San Diego vs. No. 3 Azusa Pacific - 2:30 p.m.

Friday-Saturday: See bracket (links provided below).

WEST 2 REGION BRACKET (PDF)
FULL BRACKET (PDF)

*Note: Dixie State's record was incorrectly listed at 36-13-1 on the brackets. DSU's correct regular season record is 36-13.

Click HERE for directions to the Cougar Softball Complex (701 E. Foothill, Azusa, CA 91702)

Live Stats: NCAA.com
Live Video: Azusa Pacific
Live Audio: Dixie State (Play-by-Play provided by Keric Seegmiller)
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieBlazers #PacWestSB

The Dixie State softball team opens the 2016 NCAA Division II West 2 Regional on Thursday in Azusa, California, taking on Central Washington in the first game of the tournament at noon Mountain Time.

The Trailblazers (36-13, 24-8 PacWest) were selected to their eighth consecutive West Regional on Monday, and are tied with Sonoma State for the longest current streak of West Regional appearances.

DSU received the No. 7 seed in the West 2 Regional, while first-round opponent CWU was tabbed as the No. 2 seed. Azusa Pacific, host of the West 2 Regional, earned the No. 3 seed and will match up with No. 6-seeded UC San Diego in game two on Thursday. Links for live stats and video will be available at DixieAthletics.com. Live audio coverage will also be available for all DSU games at SouthernUtahLive.com, with Keric Seegmiller providing play-by-play.

The winners of the first two games will advance to play in game three at noon MT on Friday. The losers drop to the one-loss bracket and will meet in the first elimination game (game four) on Friday at 2:30 p.m. MT. The winner of game four will advance to play the loser of game three on Friday at 5 p.m. MT, with the winner advancing to play the winner of game three in the West 2 Region championship (game six) on Saturday at noon MT. The if-necessary game will follow immediately should the one-loss team win game six.

ALL-TIME VS. CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Friday's game marks the sixth meeting between Dixie State and Central Washington. The teams first met on Feb. 11, 2011, at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger tournament. DSU won the inaugural matchup, 4-1. The teams met one other time in the West Regionals, with DSU earning 8-6 and 8-0 wins over the Wildcats in 2014 in St. George. The Trailblazers own a 5-0 series lead, including a 3-0 mark on a neutral field.

ALL TIME IN WEST REGIONALS: Dixie State played its first NCAA Division II West Regional game on May 8, 2009, earning a 7-6 win over Cal State Monterey Bay. The Trailblazers went on to win the 2009 West Regional, and since then, have advanced to the Super Regionals in 2014 and 2015. DSU has hosted a West Regional four times (2009, 2013-15) and holds a 16-8 record in West Regional games, including a 4-6 mark away from Karl Brooks Field.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Central Washington enters the West 2 Regional with a 38-14 overall record and an 18-11 mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) action. The Wildcats won the GNAC tournament, winning four straight games after an opening-round loss to become the first team in conference history to win the tournament after falling into the one-loss bracket. CWU's West Region No. 2 seed is the highest seed in program history. The Wildcats are led by junior infielder Kailyn Campbell (.436/42 RBI/16 2B/7 HR), sophomore outfielder Celine Fowler (.419/18 RBI/16 SB), and senior catcher Austin Wilkerson (.388/50 RBI/15 2B/ 9 HR). Junior left-handed pitcher Kiana Wood (18-6) leads the charge defensively with a 2.57 ERA, 66 strikeouts, and four shutouts on the year.

BASSETT, YUNG LAND PACWEST WEEKLY AWARDS: Sophomore outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) was named PacWest Player of the Week on Monday, while junior outfielder Shelby Yung (Upland, Calif./Upland HS) earned another PacWest Newcomer of the Week award.

Bassett hit .632 (12-of-19) in Dixie State's final six games of the regular season. She hit two doubles, a triple and a home run, drove in six runs and scored nine runs. She also drew four walks and stole two bases. She went 4-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI in the opener against Concordia. Defensively, she made 14 putouts in center field, including a diving catch to prevent two runs from scoring late in a 9-6 win over Concordia and a leaping catch at the wall to rob a home run in the finale. Bassett ended the regular season as the PacWest leader in batting average (.479), hits (80) and on-base percentage (.527).

Yung earned her second honor in the last three weeks by hitting .467 (7-of-15) with a .636 on-base percentage in the last six games of the regular season. She drew seven walks and scored seven times on the week. She was 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the 9-6 win over Concordia. Yung ranked seventh in the PacWest in runs (42).

MAKING HISTORY: Senior pitcher Aryn Feickert (Lancaster, Calif./Highland HS) became the DSU softball single-season strikeouts leader vs. Concordia on Friday, striking out five before the game was postponed due to lightning and rain to pass Haley Shumers (162 – 2008) for the record. She added six more strikeouts on the weekend to push her single-season record total to 169. Feickert also become the DSU all-time shutouts leader on April 25 in an 8-0 win over BYU-Hawaii. She struck out six and allowed just one hit en route to her 16th career shutout, passing the previous mark of 15 set by Michelle Duncan (Gilbert, AZ/Gilbert High School). Feickert also became the career strikeout leader on March 16 at Notre Dame de Namur, striking out NDNU sophomore Taylor Haynes for her 374th career strikeout to open the bottom of the sixth inning. She eclipsed the previous mark of 373, set by Lauren Folta (2009-12), and has added 75 more strikeouts to the tally for a total of 449 career strikeouts to date, the first player in DSU history to record 400 strikeouts.

CHASING HISTORY: Entering the West 2 Regional, Bassett has logged 80 hits on the year, nine hits shy of the DSU softball single-season hits record of 89 set by Nicole Chavez (Chino Hills, CA/Ayala High School) in 2014. With 10 hits at the West 2 Regional, Bassett will become the new single-season hits leader.

LEADING THE LEAGUE: Dixie State ends the regular season as the PacWest leader in batting with a .343 team average. Individually, Bassett leads the PacWest in batting average (.479), hits (80) and on-base percentage (.527). Feickert ranks second in opposing batting average (.185), strikeouts (169) and wins (20).

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers split a four-game series with Concordia, as the teams worked around rain and lightning delays to complete the games.

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 Trailblazers 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 Trailblazers 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 RBI, while Beardshear earned First Team All-PacWest honors, batting .356 with 36 hits, six home runs, and 40 RBI. 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 Trailblazer 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 RBI.

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 winner of the West 2 Regional will advance to the West Super Regional at a site to be determined.

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Players Mentioned

#6 Nicole Chavez: 2B/SS; 5' 5"; Senior; R/R

#21 Michelle Duncan: P; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

#00 Autumn Woodfall: C/OF; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#1 Janessa Bassett: OF; 5' 2"; Sophomore; L/R

#2 Dani Bartholf: INF; 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R

#4 Kaitlyn Delange: INF; 5' 3"; Freshman; L/R

#5 Bailey Gaffin: INF; 5' 5"; Freshman; L/R

#9 Summer Simkins: INF; 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R

#10 Taylor Godfrey: OF; 5' 5"; Freshman; L/R

#11 Brooklyn Beardshear: P/INF; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#12 Jessica Gonzalez: C; 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R

#16 Kristie Johnson: OF; 5' 7"; Senior; R/R

Players Mentioned

#6 Nicole Chavez
: 5' 5"; Senior; R/R
: 2B/SS

#21 Michelle Duncan
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: P

#00 Autumn Woodfall
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: C/OF

#1 Janessa Bassett
: 5' 2"; Sophomore; L/R
: OF

#2 Dani Bartholf
: 5' 4"; Freshman; R/R
: INF

#4 Kaitlyn Delange
: 5' 3"; Freshman; L/R
: INF

#5 Bailey Gaffin
: 5' 5"; Freshman; L/R
: INF

#9 Summer Simkins
: 5' 9"; Freshman; R/R
: INF

#10 Taylor Godfrey
: 5' 5"; Freshman; L/R
: OF

#11 Brooklyn Beardshear
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: P/INF

#12 Jessica Gonzalez
: 5' 8"; Freshman; R/R
: C

#16 Kristie Johnson
: 5' 7"; Senior; R/R
: OF