Dixie State Trailblazers (38-8, 22-8 PacWest) at:
NCAA Division II West 2Â Regional - May 10-12, 2018
Irvine, California
Â
Game Times:
Thursday: No. 3 Dixie State vs. No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino - 11 a.m. PT (Noon MT)
No. 2 Concordia-Irvine vs. No. 7 Academy of Art - 1:30 p.m. PT (2:30 p.m. MT)
Friday-Saturday:Â See bracket (links provided below).
WEST 2 REGION BRACKET (PDF)Â
FULL BRACKET (PDF)
Click HERE for directions to the Concordia-Irvine Campus (1530 Concordia, Irvine, CA 92612)
TICKET INFORMATION
Single Day Tickets, On Sale Game Day Only
Adult - $5
Students/Seniors - $3
Youth (12 and under) - $2
LINKS
Tournament Central Page
Live Stats
Live Video
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #BlazeForward #PacWestSB
No. 18 Dixie State softball opens the 2018 NCAA Division II West Regionals on Thursday, taking on Cal State San Bernardino in a first-round matchup at 11 a.m. Pacific Time (Noon MT) on the campus of Concordia-Irvine in Irvine, California.
The Trailblazers (38-8, 22-8 PacWest) were selected to their 10th consecutive West Regional on Monday, marking the longest current streak of West Regional appearances.
DSU received the No. 3 seed in the West 2 Regional, while first round opponent Cal State San Bernardino (30-20, 18-16 CCAA) was tabbed as the No. 6 seed. Concordia-Irvine, host of the West 2 Regional, earned the No. 2 seed and will match up with No. 7-seeded Academy of Art in game two on Thursday.
The winners of the first two games will advance to play in game three at 10 a.m. Pacific Time (11 a.m. MT) on Friday. The losers drop to the one-loss bracket and will meet in the first elimination game (game four) on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time (1:30 p.m. MT). The winner of game four will advance to play the loser of game three on Friday at 3 p.m. Pacific Time (4 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 11 a.m. Pacific Time (Noon MT). The if-necessary game will follow immediately should the one-loss team win game six.
Live stats and live video will be provided by Concordia-Irvine at the tournament. Links for both can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.
ALL-TIME VS. CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO: Thursday's matchup marks the 22nd matchup between Dixie State and Cal State San Bernardino. The teams first met in a doubleheader on March 30, 2007, at Karl Brooks Field in St. George. The Coyotes claimed the first game, 14-7, before the Trailblazers returned the favor with a 10-5 win in the nightcap. DSU swept the final two games of the four-game series the next day. Since then, the Trailblazers have claimed 12 of the last 17 meetings between the teams, including a doubleheader sweep in San Bernardino in the most recent matchup on April 6, 2015. Dixie State holds a 15-6 overall lead and a 6-3 advantage on a neutral site against the Coyotes. Thursday's game marks the first time the teams have met in the West Regionals.
ALL TIME IN WEST REGIONALS:Â 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, 2015, and 2017. DSU has hosted a West Regional four times (2009, 2013-15) and holds a 19-10 record in West Regional games, including a 7-8 mark away from Karl Brooks Field.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Cal State San Bernardino enters the West 2 Regional with a 30-20 overall record and a 30-20 mark in CCAA play. The Coyotes took No. 2 ranked Chico State to the brink in last week's CCAA Tournament, falling 3-2 in the championship game on Sunday. CSUSB will make its fourth West Regional appearance, while this year marks the first time the Coyotes have qualified in consecutive seasons. Senior catcher Jessica Brown (.371, 52 hits, 14 HR, 11 2B, 48 RBI) leads the Coyotes at the plate, while junior outfielder Morgan Ratliff (.359, 60 hits, 10 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI) and senior infielder Monica Maddox (.35, 46 hits, 15 RBI) are also batting over .300. Junior Amanda (17-14) Ramirez leads CSUSB in the pitcher's circle with a 4.15 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 193.0 innings pitched. Freshman Kendra O'Cull (11-5, 5.72 ERA, 46 SO, 102.1 IP) also recorded a solid 2018 regular season.
LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State closed the 2018 regular season with a doubleheader sweep, 8-7 and 8-5, over Academy of Art. The games were each streamed on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
IN THE RANKINGS: After the doubleheader sweep over Academy of Art, the Trailblazers moved to No. 18 in the latest NFCA Division II Top-25 poll. DSU landed at No. 4 in the initial NCAA Division II West Region rankings, but moved up to and will enter the West 2 Regional as the No. 3 seed.
MAKING HISTORY: Janessa Bassett became the DSU Softball career hits leader with a leadoff single in the first inning at Chaminade on March 12 for her 249th career hit, passing Courtney Hine (248, 2012-15). Bassett has recorded 29 more hits since then for a current career total of 278 hits. Additionally, Bassett broke the DSU Softball career runs scored record on February 10 when she scored on a Riley Tyteca single in the top of the fifth inning vs. MSU Billings. The run marked her 184th career run scored, passing Courtney Hine (183, 2012-15). Bassett has scored 59 runs since then for a career total of 243 runs scored. In all, Bassett is the career leader at Dixie State in hits, runs scored, triples, total bases, walks drawn, and stolen bases.
Cambrie Hazel (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) earned her 10th win of the season on March 29 vs. Azusa Pacific to become just the second freshman (Lauren Folta, 2009; 15-6) in the DSU softball NCAA era to notch 10 wins in a season. Hazel has earned six more wins since then to improve to 16-3 on the season.  Additionally, Hazel has tossed five no-hitters, including a perfect game vs. NDNU on March 3, this season to set a new DSU career no-hitters record. Aryn Feickert (2014-16) held the previous mark with three career no-hitters.
As a team, the Trailblazers recorded their best start in program history, winning 20 consecutive games to start the 2018 season, before falling at Hawai'i Pacific on March 14.
400-WIN CLUB: Head coach Randy Simkins recorded his 400th career win when the Trailblazers swept Chaminade in a doubleheader on March 12. Simkins currently holds a 418-116 (.783) record in his 10th season at Dixie State.
PACWEST/NFCA WEEKLY AWARDS: The Trailblazers racked up nine PacWest weekly awards this season. Cambrie Hazel owns six of the nine, earning four PacWest Pitcher of the Week awards to go with two PacWest Freshman of the Week. Hazel was also named NFCA Division II National Pitcher of the Week on April 11.
Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS) garnered the other PacWest weekly awards, grabbing PacWest Player of the Week honor three times. Bassett was also named NFCA Division II National Player of the Week on February 14.
TRAILBLAZERS LAND SIX ALL-PACWEST HONORS: Dixie State landed six All-PacWest honors on Tuesday. Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS), Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS), and Jessica Gonzalez (Kingsburg, Calif./Kingsburg HS) earned first-team honors, while Cambrie Hazel (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS) and Kenzie Sawyer (Cedar City, Utah/Canyon View) landed on the second team. Kori Gahn (Phoenix, Ariz./Pinnacle HS) garnered the team's lone third-team selection.
THREE TRAILBLAZERS GARNER NFCA ALL-REGION HONORS: Janessa Bassett (Stansbury Park, Utah/Stansbury HS), Cambrie Hazel (Spanish Fork, Utah/Spanish Fork HS), and Bailey Gaffin (Glendale, Ariz./Mountain Ridge HS) each earned NFCA All-West Region honors on Wednesday. Bassett earned first-team honors, while Hazel and Gaffin landed on the second 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 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. 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.
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, and Emma Sweet (Walla Walla, Wash./Walla Walla HS) join the team for the new season.
