2019 Dixie State Softball Opening WeekÂ
Karl Brooks Field - St. George, Utah
Feb. 5, 2019
Canyons Softball Complex - St. George, Utah
February 7-9, 2019
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Dixie State Game Times (Mountain):
Tuesday vs. Hawai'i Hilo - 2 p.m. (Karl Brooks Field)
Tuesday vs. Central Washington - 4 p.m. (Karl Brooks Field)
Thursday vs. Western New Mexico - 3 p.m. (Canyons Field #5)
Friday vs. MSU Billings - 12:30 p.m. (Canyons Field #5)
Friday vs. Cal State East Bay - 3 p.m. (Canyons Field #5)
Saturday vs. Hawai'i Pacific - 12:30 p.m. (Canyons Field #5)
Saturday vs. Western Washington -Â (Canyons Field #5)
Click HERE for the tournament central page.Â
Live Stats:Â Dixie State Live StatsÂ
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieBlazers
The No. 17 Dixie State softball team is set to open its 2019 campaign this week with a total of seven games to be played in a five-day stretch at Karl Brooks Field and the Canyons Softball Complex.
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The Trailblazers will officially open the season with a twinbill at Karl Brooks Field on Tuesday, hosting Hawai'i Hilo at 2 p.m. and Central Washington at 4 p.m.
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Dixie State will then host the 2019 Courtyard Softball Classic at the Canyons Softball Complex. The tournament, which will feature 14 NCAA Division II teams from five different conferences, will begin on Thursday and run through Saturday.
The Trailblazers will lead off at the tournament against Western New Mexico on Thursday at 3 p.m. DSU will take on MSU Billings (12:30 p.m.) and Cal State East Bay (3 p.m.) on Friday, before closing play on Saturday vs. Hawai'i Pacific (12:30 p.m.) and Western Washington (3 p.m.).
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Live stats will be provided for all seven games and can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.
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ALL-TIME IS SEASON OPENERS: Dixie State owns an 8-4 all-time record in season openers, including a 5-4 mark at Karl Brooks Field. The Trailblazers have won three of their last four season-openers, including a 13-5 win (and eventual doubleheader sweep) over Northwest Nazarene last year at Karl Brooks Field.
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ALL-TIME VS. HAWAI'I HILO: Tuesday's game marks the 38th meeting between Dixie State and Hawai'i Hilo. The teams first met on April 18, 2007, in Hilo, Hawaii. The Vulcans won the inaugural matchup, 2-1, sparking a three-game streak for UHH in the series. DSU earned its first victory a year later in a 7-1 win in Hilo on March 10, 2008. The Trailblazers have won 12 of the last 13 matchups and hold a 26-11 series lead, including a 17-2 mark in St. George.
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ALL-TIME VS. CENTRAL WASHINGTON: Tuesday's game marks the seventh meeting between Dixie State and Central Washington. The teams first met on Feb. 11, 2011, at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger tournament where DSU claimed a 4-1 win to spark a five-game win streak in the series for the Trailblazers. The Wildcats earned a 2-0 win over DSU at the 2016 NCAA West Regionals in Azusa, California, for its lone win over the Trailblazers. Dixie State holds a 5-1 series lead, including a 2-0 mark in St. George.
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ALL-TIME VS. WESTERN NEW MEXICO: Thursday's game marks the seventh meeting between Dixie State and Western New Mexico. The teams first met on Feb. 13, 2009, at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Phoenix. Dixie State earned a 5-3 win in the inaugural matchup, sparking a five-game win streak in the series. The Mustangs claimed a 6-5 triumph in St. George for their first win of the series on Feb. 14, 2016. DSU holds a 5-1 series lead, including a 4-1 mark in St. George.
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ALL-TIME VS. MSU BILLINGS: Friday's game marks the 20th meeting between Dixie State and Montana State Billings. The teams first met on Feb. 13, 2007, in Phoenix. DSU won the inaugural matchup, 8-6, sparking a four-game win streak in the series. The Yellowjackets earned their first victory in the series on Feb. 11, 2011, a 9-5 victory at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger Tournament. Since then, DSU has won 13 of the last 15 matchups and holds 17-3 overall series lead, including a 12-2 mark in St. George.Â
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ALL TIME VS. CAL STATE EAST BAY: Friday's game marks the fourth meeting between Dixie State and Cal State East Bay. The teams first met on April 1, 2012, at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock. The Pioneers claimed a 3-2 victory in nine innings in the inaugural matchup before DSU earned a doubleheader sweep over the Pioneers last season in Hayward, California, to take a 2-1 series lead. Friday's matchup will mark the first time the teams have met in St. George.
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ALL-TIME VS. HAWAI'I PACIFIC: Saturday's game marks the 40th meeting between Dixie State and Hawai'i Pacific. The teams first met on April 20, 2007, in Kaneohe, Hawaii. HPU won the inaugural matchup, 5-4, and went on to win 13 of the first 19 matchups between the teams. Since then, the Trailblazers have won 18 of the last 20 games in the series, a stretch that spans back to 2012. DSU holds a 24-15 lead in the series, including a 14-4 mark in St. George.
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ALL-TIME VS. WESTERN WASHINGTON: Saturday's game marks the seventh meeting between Dixie State and Western Washington. The teams first met on Feb. 11, 2011, at the Las Vegas Desert Stinger. The Vikings claimed an 8-1 win in the inaugural matchup, sparking a three-game win streak. Since then, DSU has won the last three matchups, including a 5-0 win at the 2017 NCAA West Regionals and a 16-0 triumph last season at the DSU Classic, to tie the series at 3-3.
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DSU TABBED AS RMAC PRESEASON FAVORITE: Dixie State softball was selected as the 2019 RMAC preseason favorite by the league's 13 coaches. The Trailblazers received seven out of a possible 13 first-place votes in the RMAC coaches' poll to garner a total of 138 points, edging reigning RMAC champion Colorado Mesa, which received six first-place votes and earned 135 points in the poll. Colorado Christian landed at No. 3, while Regis and MSU Denver came in at fourth and fifth to round out the top-5. Junior outfielder Brenna Cornwall (Hinck) garnered the team's lone preseason All-RMAC honor as one of three outfielders on the preseason All-RMAC team.
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THE SIMKINS FILE: Randy Simkins enters his 11th year as the Dixie State head softball coach in 2019, after a stint as head coach at DSU while competing in the junior college ranks. In 10 seasons, Simkins has accumulated 422 victories to just 118 losses for a winning percentage of .781. 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.
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2019 ROSTER: Dixie State returns nine starters from the 2018 squad, led by All-American Cambrie Hazel and All-Region honorees Bailey Gaffin and Jessica Gonzalez.
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Hazel garnered third team NFCA All-America honors in 2018 and became just the second DSU freshman (Janessa Bassett, 2015) to attain All-America status. Hazel was dominant in her debut collegiate season, earning six different PacWest weekly awards to go with one national weekly award. Hazel was named PacWest Pitcher of the Week four times, while landing two Freshman of the Week honors. She was also named NFCA National Pitcher of the Week on April 11. Hazel tossed a DSU record five no-hitters and just the second perfect game (vs. NDNU; 3/3/18) in DSU history in 2018. She closed the season with a 20-4 record, a 1.79 ERA, and 142 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .162 batting average. Additionally, Hazel became the first freshman (and the third overall) DSU pitcher to win 20 or more games in a single season.
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Gaffin earned first team All-West Region honors in 2018, hitting .342 with 53 hits, 45 RBI, 12 doubles, three home runs, and one triple. She also recorded 14 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games. Defensively, Gaffin has logged a .943 fielding percentage with 78 putouts and 88 assists in 176 chances. She also helped turn six double plays.
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Gonzalez garnered second team All-West Region honors, hitting .319 with 43 hits, 41 RBI, seven home runs, and six doubles. She also recorded 11 multi-hit games to go with 11 multi-RBI games. Gonzalez belted two grand slams in 2018, including the game-winning blast over Concordia-Irvine to clinch the West 2 Regional title. Defensively, Gonzalez posted a .988 fielding percentage with 225 putouts and 23 assists on 251 chances. She also mowed down seven stolen base attempts.
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The Trailblazers also return preseason All-RMAC honoree Brenna Cornwall and third team All-PacWest honoree Kori Gahn.
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Cornwall helped anchor a talented DSU outfield in 2018, hitting .364 with 44 hits, 25 RBI, nine doubles, two home runs, and two triples. Additionally, she posted 10 multi-hit games and logged a team-high .506 on-base percentage. She also stole 16 bases on 18 attempts. Defensively, Cornwall recorded a .971 fielding percentage with 64 putouts and two assists in 68 total chances. Brenna also earned All-PacWest Academic honors with a 3.64 GPA.
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Gahn landed her first All-PacWest honor after hitting .278 with 40 hits, 28 RBI, eight doubles, and three home runs. She also finished the regular season with eight multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI games. Defensively, Gahn logged a .985 fielding percentage with 264 putouts and seven assists in 275 chances.
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DSU returns four other starters from the 2018 squad, including Riley Tyteca (.300/24 RBI/5 HR/5 2B), Kaitlyn Delange, (.292/19 RBI/9 2B), Dani Bartholf (.283/27 RBI/6 2B/3 HR), and Alexandria Melendez (10-4, 4.44 ERA/51 SO).
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Five new players join the 2019 squad, including Division I transfer Mikaela Thomson and freshmen Lindsay Altfillisch, Carissa Burgess, Kasey Crawford, and Ashley Jones.
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UP NEXT: The Trailblazers will host Northwest Nazarene in a doubleheader next Monday before hosting the Dixie State Classic later in the week.
