No. 9 Softball opens season Thursday vs. Northwest Nazarene

Trailblazers open 2018 campaign ranked in the NFCA Top-10

Dixie State Trailblazers (0-0, 0-0 PacWest) vs.
Northwest Nazarene (0-0, 0-0 GNAC)

Game Times (Mountain):
Thursday - 1 p.m., 3 p.m.

Live Stats: Dixie State
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #BlazeForward #PacWestSB

The No. 9 Dixie State softball team is set to host Northwest Nazarene in a season-opening doubleheader on Thursday beginning at 1 p.m., at Karl Brooks Field.

The season-opening series marks the first two games of an eight-game stretch in which the Trailblazers will play in St. George (five at the Canyons Softball Complex, three at Karl Brooks Field). DSU will play its first road games at the Cactus Classic in Tucson, Arizona, beginning on February 16.

ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS: Dixie State owns a 7-4 all-time record in season openers, including a 4-4 mark at Karl Brooks Field. The Trailblazers have won two of their last three season-openers, including an 11-1 win (and eventual doubleheader sweep) over Northwest Nazarene last year at Karl Brooks Field.

ALL-TIME VS. NORTHWEST NAZARENE: Thursday's series-opening game will mark the sixth meeting between Dixie State and Northwest Nazarene. The teams first met on Feb. 1, 2008, at the Red Rock Invitational in St. George. The Trailblazers won the inaugural matchup, 12-0, before defeating NNU, 24-6, the next day. DSU also earned a 4-0 victory on April 1, 2011, in the Mizuno Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California, before sweeping both ends of last year's season-opening doubleheader. Dixie State holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series, including a 4-0 mark at Karl Brooks Field.

KNOW YOUR FOE: Like Dixie State, Northwest Nazarene will open the 2018 season in Thursday's doubleheader at Karl Brooks Field. The Nighthawks (formerly Crusaders) finished the 2017 season with a 23-27 overall record and a 13-15 mark in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. Junior infielder Kylie Orr returns to anchor the NNU lineup after the leading the team with a .406 batting average, 67 hits, 49 RBI, 17 doubles, and eight home runs as a sophomore. Junior pitcher Rylee Thomas brings back the most experience in the pitcher's circle from last year's squad, posting a 9-9 record with a 4.71 ERA and 49 strikeouts during the 2017 season.

DSU PICKED SECOND IN PACWEST PRESEASON POLL: For the second consecutive season, the Trailblazers were picked to finish in second place in this year's PacWest Preseason Poll behind California Baptist. Junior outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) was named as the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year after earning NFCA/D2CCA All-America and first team All-PacWest honors last season. Bassett, along with Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) and Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS), was also named to the PacWest Preseason Team.

THE SIMKINS FILE: Randy Simkins enters his 10th year as the Dixie State head softball coach in 2018, 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 380 victories to just 108 losses for a winning percentage of .779 in nine 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 in 2015.

2018 ROSTER: Dixie State returns 13 starters from the 2017 squad, led by senior outfielder Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS). A three-time first team All-PacWest honoree and three-time All-American, Bassett led Dixie State in batting average for the third consecutive season in 2017, hitting .406 with 43 runs scored, 19 RBI, and conference-best marks in on-base percentage (.519), stolen bases (42), and triples (5). She also set the new DSU career stolen bases record, stealing 42 bases on 45 attempts for a career total of 118 stolen bases. Additionally, Bassett, was named PacWest Defender of the Year, and was near-perfect defensively, logging a .983 fielding percentage with 59 putouts in 60 chances.

The Trailblazers return three other All-PacWest honorees, including Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS), Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS), and Kenzie Sawyer (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View).

Gonzalez earned D2CCA All-West Region and second team PacWest honors in 2017. She finished the season in the Top-10 of six different statistical categories in the PacWest, including slugging percentage (.610), fielding percentage (.990), RBI (40), home runs (11), walks drawn (22), and caught stealing by (11).

Gaffin enjoyed a breakout season in 2017 and landed D2CAA/NFCA All-West Region honors and second team All-PacWest honors. She finished the season in the Top-10 in five different statistical categories in the PacWest, including batting average (.390), slugging percentage (.585), on-base percentage (.463), hits (62), and RBI (43). Defensively, Gaffin logged a .957 fielding percentage, recording 102 putouts and 74 assists in 184 chances.

Sawyer was named the PacWest Newcomer of the Year in 2017, as she transitioned seamlessly from the junior college ranks to the PacWest, hitting .327 with 26 RBI, eight doubles, and four home runs. She recorded nine multi-RBI games, reached base in 14 consecutive games, and earned PacWest Player of the Week honors on February 20.

Alyssa Arslanian (Tooele, Utah/Tooele HS) joins the team as the only junior college transfer addition in 2018. Arslanian hit .431 with 106 RBI, 31 doubles, and 27 home runs in two seasons at Snow College.

Four freshman look to compete for playing time in 2018 as Meagan Anders (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis HS), Malory Eldredge (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley HS), Cambrie Hazel (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS), and Emma Sweet (Walla Walla, Wash./Walla Walla HS) join the team for the new season.

UP NEXT: Dixie State will host the 2018 Easton Classic at the Canyons Softball Complex next Thursday through Sunday. The Trailblazers will battle MSU-Denver, Western Washington, CSU-Pueblo, MSU Billings, Chadron State, and Colorado School of Mines as part of the classic.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Janessa Bassett: OF; 5' 3"; Senior; L/R

#00 Kenzie Sawyer: OF/C; 5' 8"; Senior; R/R

#5 Bailey Gaffin: 2B/SS; 5' 6"; Junior; L/R

#12 Jessica Gonzalez: C/1B; 5' 8"; Junior; R/R

#21 Alyssa Arslanian: 3B; 5' 5"; Junior; R/R

#24 Meagan Anders: SS/C/OF; 5' 3"; Freshman; L/R

#11 Malory Eldredge: OF; 5' 8"; Freshman; L/R

#8 Cambrie Hazel: P; 5' 11"; Freshman; R/R

#15 Emma Sweet: 2B/SS; 5' 6"; Freshman; L/R

Players Mentioned

#1 Janessa Bassett
: 5' 3"; Senior; L/R
: OF

#00 Kenzie Sawyer
: 5' 8"; Senior; R/R
: OF/C

#5 Bailey Gaffin
: 5' 6"; Junior; L/R
: 2B/SS

#12 Jessica Gonzalez
: 5' 8"; Junior; R/R
: C/1B

#21 Alyssa Arslanian
: 5' 5"; Junior; R/R
: 3B

#24 Meagan Anders
: 5' 3"; Freshman; L/R
: SS/C/OF

#11 Malory Eldredge
: 5' 8"; Freshman; L/R
: OF

#8 Cambrie Hazel
: 5' 11"; Freshman; R/R
: P

#15 Emma Sweet
: 5' 6"; Freshman; L/R
: 2B/SS