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Utah Tech University Athletics

2019 SB - RMAC CHAMPS
Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics
9
Winner Dixie State DSSB 40-11
5
MSU Denver MSSB 31-27
Winner
Dixie State DSSB
40-11
9
Final
5
MSU Denver MSSB
31-27
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Dixie State DSSB 0 1 1 3 2 0 2 9 15 0
MSU Denver MSSB 1 0 3 0 1 0 0 5 11 3

W: Burgess, Carissa (22-4) L: Destinee Lopez (5-2)

3
Winner Dixie State DSSB 41-11
2
Colorado Mesa CMSB 45-8
Winner
Dixie State DSSB
41-11
3
Final
2
Colorado Mesa CMSB
45-8
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Dixie State DSSB 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 3 8 1
Colorado Mesa CMSB 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 0

W: Burgess, Carissa (23-4) L: Kimbri Herring (21-4)

1
Colorado Mesa CMSB 45-9
4
Winner Dixie State DSSB 42-11
Colorado Mesa CMSB
45-9
1
Final
4
Dixie State DSSB
42-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Colorado Mesa CMSB 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 3 0
Dixie State DSSB 0 0 2 1 0 1 X 4 6 0

W: Hazel, Cambrie (18-6) L: McKenzie Surface (20-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | By DSU Athletics Media Relations

CHAMPIONS! Trailblazers win 3 games on Saturday to claim RMAC Tournament Title

Dixie State earns 11th consecutive NCAA Regional Bid

(DIXIE STATE POSTGAME INTERVIEWS - YOUTUBE)

As the Dixie State softball team entered the final day of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament on Saturday, the task ahead was much easier said than done: win three games in a row and return to St. George with the 2019 RMAC Tournament Title, as well as an 11th straight bid to the NCAA Division II Regionals.
 
Seven hours after the first pitch of the day, DSU pitcher Cambrie Hazel fired a 1-2 pitch to Colorado Mesa pinch-hitter Tegan Woolsey, whose swing missed for the final out of the championship game. As the pitch hit the glove of Jessica Gonzalez behind the plate, the Trailblazers stormed the pitcher's circle from their positions on the field and from inside the dugout. Hats and gloves flew into the air as Dixie State celebrated its first-ever conference tournament championship, and a mission accomplished.
 
"We talked last night about what we needed to do today," head coach Randy Simkins said. "We didn't have great swings yesterday, and we weren't as aggressive at the plate as we needed to be. Today we were able to string together better at-bats and keep our opponents back on their heels. Everybody worked their tails off for this, and we got production from top to bottom in our lineup today."
 
The No. 3 seed Trailblazers (42-11) opened the day with an elimination game against No. 5 MSU Denver, which blasted its way to the tournament semifinal with a convincing 10-4 win over No. 5 Colorado School of Mines on Friday night.
 
The Roadrunners struck first in the opening frame of the contest, taking a 1-0 lead with no outs and the bases loaded. However, DSU escaped the jam with the help of a double play on a flyout to Brenna Cornwall in left field. After making the catch, Cornwall fired to Gonzalez at the plate, who tagged out the MSU Denver base runner trying to score from third.
 
Dixie State evened the score in the top of the second when Gonzalez laced an infield single to shortstop to score Taylor Godfrey from third. The Trailblazers took their first lead of the game at 2-1 in the third inning when Mikaela Thomson blasted a two-out, solo home run to right center field.
 
MSU Denver answered with three runs on three hits in the bottom half of the frame to retake a 4-2 lead. However, the lead was short-lived.
 
The Trailblazers countered with three runs of their own on three hits and one MSUD error in the top of the fourth to build a 5-4 advantage on RBI hits from Bailey Gaffin, Gonzalez, and Kasey Crawford.
 
After DSU added two more runs in the top of the fifth, the Roadrunners pulled one run back to cut the lead to 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth. But MSU Denver would get no closer.
 
Dixie State pushed the lead to the final tally of 9-5 on a two-run double by Gonzalez to clinch the win and set up the rematch with Colorado Mesa.
 
Four DSU players recorded a multi-hit game against the Roadrunners, led by Gaffin and Gonzalez, who finished with three hits each. Carissa Burgess picked up the win after entering in the third inning.
 
The Trailblazers looked to pick up where they left off in the first inning against the Mavericks, placing runners on first and second with no outs. However, CMU turned a double play to swing the momentum and help extinguish the DSU threat.
 
Colorado Mesa carried the momentum from the play to the bottom of the first, taking a 1-0 lead on an RBI-single up the middle.
 
The top of the second saw DSU again place runners on first and second, and this time, the Trailblazers would not let the opportunity pass by. Kaitlyn Delange drove an RBI-single to left field, followed by a Cornwall sacrifice fly to right field to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.
 
Dixie State pushed across an insurance run in the third inning when Crawford singled to right field to allow Gonzalez to score from second and push the lead to 3-1.
 
The Mavericks threatened to retake the lead in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the lead to 3-2 with the bases still loaded. But Carissa Burgess and the DSU defense protected the lead, forcing a groundout to shortstop to escape the jam. The Trailblazers retired CMU in order in the bottom of the seventh to force the winner-take-all championship game.
 
Thomson posted a team-high two hits in the game, while three Trailblazers recorded an RBI. Burgess (23-4) picked up her second win of the day in the pitcher's circle with a complete-game victory.
 
The championship game began in a near carbon-copy as the first game, as DSU stranded two runners in the first inning. Two innings later, the Mavericks broke the scoreless tie with an RBI-double to right center to take a 1-0 lead. But like the first game, the lead didn't last.
 
After Gonzalez reached on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the third, Kori Gahn pulled her seventh home run of the season down the left field line to propel the Trailblazers to a 2-1 lead. Dixie State would add two more runs for a 4-1 lead when Delange picked up RBI hits in the fourth and seventh innings.  
 
Meanwhile, Hazel went to work in the pitcher's circle, retiring 12 of the final 13 CMU batters to preserve the lead and clinch the RMAC tournament championship. Hazel (18-6) picked up her 18th win of the season in the game, allowing just three hits in the complete-game gem, while striking out six CMU batters to push her single-season total to 204 and become the first DSU pitcher in the NCAA Division II era to record 200 strikeouts in a single season.
 
Bartholf led DSU at the plate in the finale with two hits, while Gahn and Delange each finished with 2 RBI.
 
The Trailblazers finished with a tournament-best five players on the All-Tournament Team, including Gonzalez, Gaffin, Cornwall, Hazel, and Burgess as the Tournament MVP, to cap a total team effort throughout the weekend.
 
"Our phrase at this tournament has been 21 vs. nine," Simkins said. "The 21 players in our dugout against the nine players on the field for the opponent. We told the team that everyone has to contribute, whether you're on the field or not, if we want to get this done."
 
Dixie State now awaits the NCAA Division II Selection Show on Monday at 8 a.m. to learn its seed and its opponent at next week's South Central Regional.
 
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