The sun shone on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when the catcher stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded.
During the game against Hawaii Pacific University Sunday, DSU junior catcher Marla Reiter stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the second inning and hit the ball for a grand slam.
The Red Storm played a doubleheader against Azusa Pacific University Saturday and split the games with the Cougars. The Storm also played a doubleheader against Hawaii Pacific Sunday and put up 10 runs in each of the two games.
Dixie State won its first game of the weekend against Azusa Pacific with a 5-2 score. The Storm scored all five runs in the first two innings of the game.
The Red Storm then lost 4-0 in the next game. DSU had only six hits in the game.
“Game one, we came out strong and put numbers on the board early,” said pitcher Michelle Duncan, a junior business major from Gilbert, Ariz.
Junior pitcher Aryn Feickert received the win against APU and only allowed three hits. Senior pitcher Mattie Snow took her first loss of the season in game two of the doubleheader. APU had nine hits in the game.
“[Saturday], we scored five runs in two innings and then didn’t score the next 11 innings,” head coach Randy Simkins said. “We came into the weekend hitting (a) .409 (batting average), so for us to hit like that was disappointing.”
Dixie took out any frustration hanging overnight in Sunday’s games. Dixie scored 10 runs on eight hits in the first game and won 10-6. Reiter hit her grand slam in the second and finished the game with five RBIs.
Feickert got another win with five strikeouts and is now 3-1 on the season.
“After our loss to Azusa, we knew we really needed to win these two games,” Duncan said. “We scored early, which led to the win.”
HPU started the second game with a two-run home run, and it looked like it might have been another long game for Dixie. The Red Storm tied the game in the first inning, though, and continued the runs for 10 points unanswered. The game ended after only five innings with a 10-2 final.
Junior first baseman Sheila Gelter led the team with three RBIs in the game. She also recorded a home run down the left field line that gave Dixie the 3-2 lead.
“To win both games against Hawaii Pacific, who is a really scrappy team, was really good,” Simkins said.
Snow received the win and allowed only five hits, while Dixie had 10 hits.
Simkins said Reiter, Gelter, and freshman shortstop Josey Hartman played well over the weekend. He said he was very impressed with Hartman’s play defensively.
The Red Storm will play at APU Friday and at California Baptist University Saturday.
The Red Storm will then return home for two games against Cal Baptist March 8.
