Game Times (Mountain):
Saturday  - Noon
Saturday -  2 p.m.
Sunday - 11 a.m.
Sunday -  1 p.m.

Live Stats: Colorado School of Mines Live Stats 
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | #DixieBlazers


The Dixie State softball team travels to Colorado this week for the third time in the last four weeks for a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference showdown against Colorado School of Mines.
 
The Trailblazers (18-5, 12-4 RMAC) and Orediggers (11-10, 10-3 RMAC) will play a four-game series at the Regis University softball field in Denver, due to ongoing construction at the Mines softball field in Golden, which has been delayed by frequent snowfall during the winter months. Click HERE for directions to the Regis softball field.
 
The series will open with a doubleheader on Saturday at Noon before wrapping up with a second doubleheader on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live stats will be provided by the CSM sports information staff. The link for the live stats can be found at DixieStateAthletics.com.  
 
ALL-TIME VS. COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES: Saturday's series-opening game marks the fifth overall meeting, and the first official RMAC contest, between Dixie State and Colorado School of Mines. The teams first met on March 13, 2007, in Tucson, Arizona. The Trailblazers earned a 7-0 win in the inaugural matchup, followed up by a 4-0 win over the Orediggers two days later. CSM posted its first win in the series with a 10-0 triumph at the Las Vegas Stinger tournament on Feb. 14, 2010. DSU claimed a thrilling 10-9 victory in nine innings at the 2018 Easton Classic in the most recent matchup between the teams. The Trailblazers own a 3-1 overall series lead.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: Colorado School of Mines enters the weekend with an 11-10 overall record and a 10-3 mark in RMAC play. The Orediggers won just one game in non-conference play, but have rattled off 10 wins in 13 games of RMAC action, including a series split with No. 18 Colorado Mesa. Three CSM players are hitting above .300, including Kendall Murphy (.388/11 2B/HR/15 RBI), Clara Larson (.343/5 2B/3 3B/2 HR/20 RBI), and Katie Leiker (.328/20 hits/7 RBI). Sydney Marchando (7-3/2.83 ERA/61 SO) and Claire Stringfellow (4-5/2.36 ERA/22 SO) lead the Orediggers in the pitcher's circle.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State swept a four-game RMAC series from UC-Colorado Springs last week, with two of the four games going into the eighth inning. Taylor Godfrey continued to lead DSU at the plate, hitting .615 (8-of-13) in the No. 2 spot in the lineup with one double and 2 RBI. She posted a .688 on-base percentage and was successful on 5-of-6 on stolen-base attempts with three runs scored. Carissa Burgess led DSU in the pitcher's circle, picking up two wins to improve to 10-2 and become the first RMAC pitcher to break the double-figure win mark this season.
 
NEW SEASON, NEW CONFERENCE: After 11 seasons as a member of the Pacific West Conference, the Trailblazers played their first official RMAC contest on February 24 against Adams State. Dixie State logged a 263-67 record as a member of the PacWest Conference and won four PacWest titles (2011, 2013, 2014, 2015).
 
ON THE ROAD: Since Randy Simkins began his NCAA Division II-era tenure as head coach at DSU in 2010, the Trailblazers have posted a 133-44 (.751) record in true road games and have logged a winning record on the road in each season. Additionally, Dixie State has recorded a 55-36 (.604) record in neutral-site games.
 
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.
 
THE SIMKINS FILE:  Randy Simkins is in 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-plus seasons, Simkins has accumulated 440 victories to just 123 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
The Trailblazers also return preseason All-RMAC honoree Brenna Cornwall and third team All-PacWest honoree Kori Gahn.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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).
 
Five new players join the 2019 squad, including Division I transfer Mikaela Thomson and freshmen Lindsay Altfillisch, Carissa Burgess, Kasey Crawford, and Ashley Jones.
 
UP NEXT: Dixie State will host Regis in a four-game RMAC series at Karl Brooks Field next Saturday and Sunday.