Dixie State Trailblazers (42-11) at:
NCAA Division II South Central 2 Regional
May 9-11, 2019 - Commerce, Texas
Game Times (Mountain):
THURSDAY
(Game 1) No. 3 Tarleton State vs. No. 6 Cameron - 2 p.m.
(Game 2) No. 2 Texas A&M-Commerce vs. No. 7 Dixie State - 4:30 p.m.
FRIDAY/SATURDAY: Click HERE for the full bracket.
Click
HERE for directions to John Cain Family Softball Field (2301 Hubbell Dr, Commerce, TX 75428)
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets will be available at 8:00 A.M. on Tuesday, May 7, 2019. Prices are based on a per day basis, granting access for fans to all games played each day.
Adults $10
Students $5
Children $5
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The Dixie State softball team is set to take part in its 11th consecutive NCAA Division II regional tournament, as the Trailblazers travel to Commerce, Texas, for the South Central 2 Regional.
The Trailblazers (42-11) enter the regional as the No. 7 seed and will open play on Thursday against No. 2 seed and host Texas A&M-Commerce at 5:30 p.m. Central Time (4:30 p.m. MT). No. 3 seed Tarleton State will battle No. 6 seed Cameron in the South Central 2 Regional opener on Thursday at 3 p.m. CT (2 p.m. MT).
The winners of the first two games will advance to play in game three at Noon CT (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 2:30 p.m. CT (1:30 p.m. MT). The winner of game four will advance to play the loser of game three on Friday at 5 p.m. CT (4 p.m. MT), with the winner advancing to play the winner of game three in the South Central 2 Region championship (game six) on Saturday at Noon CT (11 a.m. MT). The if-necessary game will follow immediately should the one-loss team win game six.
ALL-TIME VS. THE SOUTH CENTRAL 2 FIELD: The Trailblazers have never played against any of other three teams in the South Central 2 Regional.
KNOW YOUR FOE: Texas A&M-Commerce enters the South Central Regionals with a 38-12 overall record. The Lions finished in second place in the Lone Star Conference during the regular season and in the conference tournament. Senior Bri Sims leads the Lions at the plate, hitting .346 with 14 home runs, five doubles, and 47 RBI, while freshman Madison Schaefer (.339/9 HR/9 2B/28 RBI) and sophomore Kimber Neal (.333/7 HR/5 2B/29 RBI) also average over .330. Sophomore Emily Otto leads TAMUC in the pitcher's circle with a 26-6 record to go with a 1.84 ERA and 157 strikeouts.
Tarleton State enters the week with a 39-13 overall record. The Texans finished in fourth place in the Lone Star Conference. Senior Tanna Huie leads Tarleton at the plate, hitting .401 with 13 home runs, five doubles, and 42 RBI, while sophomore Georgia Capell is not far behind with a .397 batting average to go with 18 home runs, 16 doubles, and 68 RBI. Junior Jordan Withrow leads TSU in the pitcher's circle with a 21-4 record, a 1.92 ERA, and 207 strikeouts.
Cameron enters the postseason with a 33-15 overall record after finishing in fifth place in the Lone Star Conference. Freshman Khmari Edwards leads the Aggies at the plate with a .403 batting average to go with 11 doubles, eight home runs, and 40 RBI. Junior Brenna Busby is second on the team in batting average at .381, but leads Cameron with 18 home runs and 50 RBI. Two Aggies pitchers have split the majority of the time in the circle, including junior Bethany Hines (14-6, 2.49 ERA, 96 SO) and freshman Breley Webb (8-2, 2.81 ERA, 71 SO).
ALL TIME IN NCAA REGIONALS: Dixie State played its first NCAA Division II Regional game in the West Region 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, 2017, and 2018. DSU has hosted a Regional four times (2009, 2013-15) and holds a 22-10 record in NCAA Regional games, including a 10-8 mark away from Karl Brooks Field.
LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers claimed the 2019 RMAC Tournament Championship last week, posting a 5-1 record in Grand Junction, Colorado.
MAKING HISTORY: Sophomore pitcher Cambrie Hazel broke the DSU single-season strikeout record on April 26 in the series opener at Fort Lewis, notching 13 strikeouts to pass Aryn Feickert (178; 2016) atop the list. Hazel has added 18 more strikeouts since then to push her current single-season total to 204 strikeouts and become the first DSU pitcher in the NCAA Division II era to record 200 strikeouts in a single season.
500-WIN CLUB: The Trailblazers earned their 500th NCAA Division II victory on April 6 with their 3-1 defeat of Black Hills State. With 18 more victories since then, DSU holds an all-time NCAA Division II record of 518-171 (.752).
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 144-50 (.742) record in true road games and have logged a winning record on the road in each season. Additionally, Dixie State has recorded a 59-36 (.621) record in neutral-site games.
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 464 victories to just 129 losses for a winning percentage of .782. 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: The winner of the South Central 2 Regional will advance to play the winner of the South Central 1 Regional in the South Central Super Regional next week.
