Dixie State Trailblazers (42-12, 24-8 PacWest)Â
vs. Humboldt State (41-13, 22-11 CCAA)
NCAA Division II West Super Regional - May 18-19, 2017
Arcata, California
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Game Times:
Thursday: Humboldt State vs. Dixie State - 3 p.m. PT (4 p.m. MT)
Friday: Dixie State vs. Humboldt State - Noon PT (1 p.m. MT)
If-Necessary game - 2:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. MT)
WEST SUPER REGIONAL BRACKET (PDF)Â
FULL SUPER REGIONALÂ BRACKET (PDF)
Click HERE for directions to Humboldt State University (1 Harpst St, Arcata, CA 95521)
Click HERE for Humboldt State Campus Map
PARKING INFORMATION
Limited parking for team vehicles (but not buses), officials, NCAA reps, media, and game personnel will be available adjacent to the Field House and adjacent to Forbes Complex. Fan parking will be available in other lots on campus. Day-to-day passes can be purchased at the lot.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets may be purchased at the HSU Softball Field
General Admission — Individual games - $7
Students and Seniors — Individual games - $5
No advance purchase tickets will be available.
LINKS
Live Video
Live Stats
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieBlazers #PacWestSB
No. 23 Dixie State softball heads to Arcata, California, this week for a date with No. 12 Humboldt State in the NCAA Division II West Super Regional. The best-of-three series opens on Thursday at 3 p.m. Pacific Time (4 p.m. MT), with game two slated for a Noon PT (1 p.m. MT) start on Friday. If the teams split the first two games, the if-necessary game will follow at 2:30 p.m. PT (3:30 p.m. MT) on Friday. The winner of the series will earn a berth to the 2017 Division II Women's College World Series in Salem, Virginia.
The Trailblazers (42-12) played their way to the West Super Regional with a sweep of the West 1 Regional in Seaside, California. DSU opened the sub-regional with a 5-4 defeat of Sonoma State on Thursday, followed by a 5-0 shutout of Western Washington on Friday. Dixie State officially punched its ticket to the Super Regionals with a second victory over SSU, this time a 7-4 win over the Seawolves on Saturday.
The Lumberjacks (41-13) swept through the West 2 Regional in Chico, California, edging California Baptist for a 1-0 victory on Thursday, followed by a 5-1 win over Cal State San Bernardino on Friday. Humboldt State closed out the tournament with a 5-2 win over Chico State on Saturday.
Live video, audio, and stats will be provided by Humboldt State, with links for each available on DixieStateAthletics.com.
ALL-TIME VS. HUMBOLDT STATE: Thursday's series-opening game marks the seventh meeting between Dixie State and Humboldt State. The teams first met on April 3, 2009, at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California. The Trailblazers won the inaugural matchup, 4-3, sparking a five-game win streak for DSU in the series. Humboldt State earned its first win in the series last season with a 4-1 triumph at Karl Brooks Field. Dixie State holds a 5-1 series lead. Thursday's game marks the first time the teams will meet in Arcata, as the Trailblazers make their first trip to Humboldt.
ALL-TIME IN WEST SUPER REGIONALS: Dixie State played in its first West Super Regional in 2009, hosting Stanislaus State at Karl Brooks Field. DSU dropped the first game before rallying for two victories the next day to advance to its first Division II Women's College World Series. The Trailblazers also hosted the West Super Regionals in 2014, sweeping Cal State Monterey Bay, and again in 2015, taking both games from Sonoma State. Dixie State is 6-1 all-time in West Super Regional games. The 2017 West Super Regional marks the first time the Trailblazers will play in a Super Regional away from Karl Brooks Field.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Humboldt State enters the West Super Regional with a 41-13 overall record. The Lumberjacks have won seven of their last eight games, going 4-1 at the CCAA Tournament before sweeping through the West 2 Regional. Three HSU players are batting .345 or better, including junior outfielder Winona Vigil (.357/27 RBI/8 2B/4 HR), senior pitcher Kalyn Paque (.352/35 RBI/9 HR), and senior infielder Tiffany Hollingsworth (.345/47 RBI/9 2B/8 HR). Senior Madison Williams leads the Lumberjacks in the pitcher's circle, logging a 1.78 ERA with 249 strikeouts in 197.0 innings pitched.
LEADING THE LEAGUE: Dixie State leads the PacWest in batting average (.331), RBI (325), on-base percentage (.416), walks drawn (190), runs scored (375), and stolen bases (133). Additionally, Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) leads the league in on-base percentage (.532) and stolen bases (40), while Mallory Paulson (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) leads the conference in runs scored (49).
MAKING HISTORY: Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) became Dixie State's career stolen bases leader on February 10, stealing second in the top of the first vs. UC Colorado Springs. Bassett eclipsed former DSU player Bailie Hicken's (2009-10) mark of 87 on the play, and has added 28 more stolen bases since then for a career total of 116 stolen bases on 129 attempts (.899). Bassett also currently sits atop the career triples (20), batting average (.449), and on-base percentage (.531) lists.
Additionally, Josey Hartman (Mapleton, Utah/Maple Mountain HS) sits atop the DSU career games played and games started lists after appearing in and starting in the series finale at Concordia-Irvine on April 15. The senior shortstop has started in every Dixie State softball game (226 games) from her freshman year to the present day.
As a team, the Trailblazers have set new single-season records in walks drawn (190) and stolen bases (133). Â
DSU IN THE RANKINGS: Dixie State dropped from No. 3 to No. 4 in the final NCAA Division II West Region rankings. The Trailblazers remained at No. 23 in the NFCA Division II Top-25 poll last week.
TRAILBLAZERS LAND NINE ALL-PACWEST HONORS: Dixie State landed seven players on the 2017 All-PacWest Softball Team, while Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) and Kenzie Sawyer (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View) earned additional honors. Bassett was named PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, and Sawyer earned PacWest Newcomer of the Year honors. Bassett and Mallory Paulson (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) earned first team All-PacWest honors, while Brooklyn Beardshear (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro HS), Shelby Yung (Upland, Calif./Upland HS), Arista Honey (Bothell, Wash./Bothell HS), Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS), and Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) landed on the second team.
GAFFIN, YUNG EARN COSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS: Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) and Shelby Yung (Upland, Calif./Upland HS) earned 2017 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District honors. To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. The Academic All-District teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.Â
BASSETT, GAFFIN, GONZALEZ EARN ALL-REGION HONORS: The postseason honors continue to pour in for the Trailblazers, as Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) earned first team NFCA and D2CCA All-West Region honors. Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) also earned NFCA and D2CCA West Region honors, landing on the second team in both. Additionally, Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS) earned her second consecutive D2CCA West Region honor, earning a spot on the second team.
BASSETT NAMED NFCA PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: For the second consecutive year, Dixie State junior outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) has been named one of 25 finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II Player of the Year award. Bassett leads Dixie State at the plate, hitting .419 with 17 RBI, and leads the Pacific West Conference in on-base percentage (.532), drawing 33 walks to go with 57 hits. Additionally, Bassett leads the conference and ranks in the Top-10 nationally in stolen bases (40).
DSU PICKED SECOND IN PACWEST PRESEASON POLL: The Trailblazers were picked to finish in second place in this year's PacWest Preseason Poll, receiving three first-place votes, but finishing behind California Baptist in the poll. Junior outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) was named to the Preseason All-PacWest team, after landing on the PacWest First Team last season. Bassett also garnered Fast Pitch News Preseason All-America honorable mention honors, after being name to both the NFCA and D2CCA All-America second teams last season.
THE SIMKINS FILE: Randy Simkins enters his ninth year as the Dixie State head softball coach in 2017, 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 an NJCAA program. In 2015, the Trailblazers recorded the most wins as a Division II program with 52 victories. Simkins has accumulated 338 victories to just 94 losses for a winning percentage of .782 in eight seasons as head coach. Simkins has led DSU to four PacWest championships, two West Region championships, two trips to the College World Series, and a national runner-up finish.
2017 ROSTER:Â Dixie State returns 12 starters from the 2016 squad, led by junior outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS). A first team All-PacWest selection and second team All-American, Bassett was DSU's leading hitter in 2016, batting .474 with 82 hits, 28 RBI, 29 stolen bases, and 17 doubles. She ended the regular season as the PacWest leader in batting average, on-base percentage, and hits, ranking in the Top-10 nationally in batting average and the Top-15 in hits.
The Trailblazers return five other All-PacWest selections from last season, including Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS), who earned PacWest Freshman of the Year in 2016. Gonzalez hit .393 with 44 hits, 37 RBI, and six home runs. Senior outfielder Shelby Yung (Upland, Calif./Upland HS) (.365, 57 hits, 32 RBI), senior infielder Mallory Paulson (Fruita, Colo./Fruita Monument HS) (.345, 48 hits, 34 RBI), and senior catcher Arista Honey (Bothell, Wash./Bothell HS) (.343, 23 hits, 18 RBI) also return in 2017.
Senior Brooklyn Beardshear (Tucson, Ariz./Sahuaro HS), who earned second team All-PacWest honors at third base last season, returns as DSU's top pitcher. Beardshear recorded a 12-4 record with 38 strikeouts and a 2.30 ERA in 2016.
Junior Kenzie Sawyer (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View) joins the team as the only junior college transfer addition in 2017. Sawyer hit .456 with 167 RBI and 48 doubles in two seasons at Western Nebraska Community College. She holds the WNCC career home run record with 49.
Six freshmen look to compete for playing time as Destiny Diaz (Camarillo, Calif./Oaks Christian HS), Kori Gahn (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS), Brenna Hinck (Tremonton, Utah/Bear River HS), Kaycie Jensen (Springville, Utah/Springville HS), Kirsten Quigley (Othello, Wash./Othello HS), and Riley Tyteca (Farmington, Utah/Viewmont HS) join the team for the new season.
UP NEXT: The winner of the West Super Regional will advance to the NCAA Division II Women's College World Series in Salem, Virginia.
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