Dixie State came up with a clean sweep of Southern Utah in Sunday's double header with the Thunderbirds. First, Dixie State came up with an 11-9 win in game one and then an 8-7 win in game two.
GAME 1
How it happened: Big moves were made early in the first game. In the bottom of the second inning, Dixie State loaded up the bases. Malory Eldredge stepped into the box and sent a ball deep into center field for Dixie State's first grand slam as a Division I program.
The Trailblazers continued with the moment in the bottom of the third with a Laura Lockard had a single to center and Oaklee Trapp had a double down the left field line. With runners in scoring position, Kirsten Quigley slapped one up the middle for two RBIs. As the third inning ended, DSU had a 7-2 lead.
SUU tied it up in the top of the fourth but Dixie stayed hot and scored two runs off of three hits in the bottom of the fourth for a 9-7 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Trailblazers put up two more runs for an 11-7 lead. Southern Utah came up with a homerun in the top of the sixth and two hits for one run in the top of the seventh but Dixie State closed it out with an 11-9 victory.
At the plate: Dixie State was led by Hannah Hughbanks who went 3-3 at the plate with three runs, two RBIs, and one double. The offense was highlighted by Eldredge's grand slam. sh e ended with two hits, one run and four RBIs.
In total, Dixie State had 15 hits from 32 at bats with 11 runs, 10 RBIs including two doubles and two home runs. DSU drew three walks and had five strikeouts.
In the field: Dixie State had 21 putouts and seven assists. Mikaela Thomson and Shea Clements had five putouts each.
In the circle: Ashtyn Bauerle pitched a complete seven innings. She gave up 13 hits, nine runs and two walks. She ended the day with four strikeouts in the 36 batters faced.
GAME TWO -
How it happened: The back half of the lineup did some work for the Trailblazers in game two. In the bottom of the third, Trapp started things off with a single. Quigley then dropped one right over third base to put two runners on. Later, with bases loaded Eldredge singled up the middle for two RBIs. Thomson followed that up with a hit through up the middle for a third RBI giving DSU a 3-0 lead.
The T-Birds answered with two runs in the top of the fourth but there was no stopping the Trailblazer offensive momentum at that point. Dixie had two runners in scoring position when Meagan Anders doubled to right center for two RBIs and a 5-2 lead.
Southern Utah took the lead in the top of the fifth thanks to a two run home run. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hannah Hughbanks hit a hard ball to right field for two RBIs to take a 7-6 lead over SUU. Southern Utah tied the game up in the top of the sixth inning.
With extra innings looming overhead, Carissa Burgess came up with three strikeouts in the top of the seventh, with two of them being backwards Ks. In the bottom of the seventh, Hughbanks drew a walk. Eldredge laid down a sac bunt to advance Hughbanks into scoring position. Later, the bases were loaded and Brylee Rudd stepped up and found the 5-6 hole for a single walk-off RBI to end the game.
At the plate: Dixie State ended game two with 13 hits from 32 at bats. The Blazers had eight runs, eight RBIs and drew nine walks. Hughbanks and Quigley each went 2-3 at the plate. Hughbanks had two RBIs and one run.
In the field: The Trailblazers ended the game with 21 putouts and four assists. Clements had 12 putouts while Anders had all four assists.
In the circle: Burgess pitched a full seven innings and gave up nine hits, seven runs and four walks. She came away with 12 strikeouts in the 33 batters faced.
Notes to know: Dixie State is now 10-10 overall on the season. The Trailblazers put together 28 hits in two games and put up 19 runs. DSU is now on an eight game winning streak and have won nine of the last 10 games.
Up Next: Dixie State will host Weber State for a four game series March 19-20. DSU will have one more game against Southern Utah on March 23 before starting WAC action against California Baptist at home March 26-27.
