The Trailblazers persisted through with an epic 15-14 extra inning victory over the Northern Colorado Bears Saturday evening.

What Head Coach Randy Simkins said: "Ashtyn threw very well to start the game. She ran into trouble and we didn't help her out with a couple of errors that turned the third inning into a big number.  Carissa helped calm things down a lot and gave our bats a chance to claw our way back into the game. We executed well in the last inning to move Maile to third and then Hannah came up with a big hit to finish it off." 

How it happened: Dixie State wasted no time getting a big jump over Northern Colorado. In the bottom of the first inning, Hannah Hughbanks started things off with a walk. Malory Eldredge followed that up with a single through the left side. Shea Clements followed in suit with a hard hit single through the right side to score Hughbanks. With two runners on, Mikaela Thomson stepped into the box and with an 0-1 count swung away and sent that ball deep over the palm trees lining Karl Brooks Field for three RBIs. 

In the bottom of the second, Meagan Anders homered to give the Trailblazers a 5-0 lead going into the third inning. 

In the third inning, Northern Colorado came up with 12 runs from eight hits and two errors to take a commanding lead over Dixie State. 

The Trailblazers stayed resilient and didn't let the third inning bother them. In the bottom of the third inning, Thomson kicked the offense back into gear with a solo shot into right field. Kasey Crawford followed that up with a double and was later able to cross the plate for two DSU runs that inning. 

Dixie State's defense locked in during the top of the fourth with a three up three down effort including two Northern Colorado strikeouts. In the bottom of the fourth, Clements doubled to right center. With one runner on base and the first pitch she saw, Thomson hit her third bomb of the game for a two run homer. As the fourth inning closed out, Dixie State trailed 12-9. 

The Bears were able to put up two more runs pushing their score to 14 in the top of the fifth. Dixie State started the bottom of five off  with a walk drawn by Kirsten Quigley which was followed by Anders' single to left field. With a runner in scoring position, Hughbanks singled up the middle for an RBI. Eldredge did the same thing with a single for an RBI. At this point, DSU was down 14-11.

With runners on the corners, Thomson stepped into the box and smashed a ball in the left center gap for a double and two RBIs. As the fifth inning concluded Dixie trailed just 14-13. 

The Trailblazer offense went back to work in the sixth inning and Hughbanks came up with her second RBI of the day to tie the game at 14-14. The seventh inning went scoreless for both teams forcing the game into extra innings. 

Dixie State was able to get three outs in the top of the eighth without letting the international tiebreaker runner to score. In the bottom of the eighth, Quigley laid down a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt to advance the tiebreaker runner to third. Hughbanks then singled to left field for a walk off game winning RBI. 

At the plate: Dixie State was led by Mikaela Thomson who went straight beast mode on the day. Thomson ended with four hits from five at bats, with three runs, eight RBIs, one double and three home runs. 

Hughbanks also had an impressive day with four hits from five at bats with one run and three RBI, including one double. 

In total, Dixie State had 40 at bats with 15 runs from 18 hits. The Trailblazers had four doubles and four homers. DSU drew six walks had eight strikeouts and one stolen base. 

In the field: Dixie State had 24 putouts and 17 assists. Thomson had the game high with 14 putouts. Brylee Rudd had a great game on the defensive side with seven assists. 

In the circle:  Ashtyn Bauerle started in the circle for Dixie State and pitched 2.1 innings. She gave up six hits, seven runs, five errors and two walks. She did come away with one strikeout in the 16 batters faced. 

Kate Dolinski also pitched for DSU. She pitched 0.1 innings and gave up three hits, four runs and two errors. 

Carissa Burgess came into the game and pitched 5.1 innings. She gave up six hits, three runs and three errors. She threw just two walks and came away with three strikeouts. She faced 24 batters. Burgess came away with the win putting her record to 3-5. 

Notes to know:  Dixie State has a 3-10 overall record now on the season. Thomson has now hit six home runs on the season. Her three home runs today ties for the school record of most home runs in a single game. Her eight RBIs ties at No. 2 in school history for RBIs in a single game. 

Up Next: Dixie State will continue action tomorrow taking on the University of Northern Colorado and Weber State in the final day of action for the weekend.