After dropping from the national rankings, Trailblazer softball responded in dominating fashion with a 4-0 trip to the Bay Area over the weekend.
Senior Aryn Feickert threw a complete-game no-hitter for the second time this season, earning her the 7-0 win against Holy Names University in game one.
“Our pitching and defense was phenomenal all weekend long,” head coach Randy Simkins said. “To only allow two runs and six hits in four games is seriously impressive.”
Dixie State University added run support in each of the games’ final four innings, including a steal at home plate from junior outfielder Shelby Yung. Sophomore outfielder Janessa Bassett led the Blazers from the batter’s box in game one, going 3-4 and scoring two runs. Junior pitcher Brooklyn Beardshear went 2-3 with an RBI, and Yung finished 2-4 and also added an RBI.
“We had [taken] some tough losses against Cal Bap last week, so it was nice to get back in rhythm,” said Bassett, a sophomore biology major from Stansbury Park. “The pitchers played awesome, and, on top of that, we saw the ball and hit really well.”
Game two wasn’t quite as easy for DSU. The game was still scoreless, midway through the fifth, but the Trailblazers changed that in a hurry.
Two consecutive two-run homers, one from senior outfielder Kristie Johnson and one from junior infielder Mallory Paulson, gave DSU the 4-0 lead.
The Hawks attempted to stage a rally as they loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. The Blazers protected their lead and escaped the bases-loaded jam only surrendering a single run.
Junior Josey Hartman kept the momentum going for DSU, leading off with a triple to center field. Bassett notched another RBI when she launched a double down the left field line, scoring Hartman. Junior infielder Arista Honey brought Bassett home on an RBI-single to score the final run of the game and extend the lead to 6-1.
Honey went 2-4, Hartman went 2-3 and Beardshear got the win from the circle to move to 9-4 on the year.
The Blazers picked up right where they left off in the second day of the trip, trouncing Academy of Art University 9-0 and 7-1 and completing the Bay Area sweep in the process.
Game one was tightly-contested early on as AofA held the Storm to two runs in the first four innings, but the Blazers pulled away in the fifth. AofA committed three errors and allowed six hits in the top of the fifth inning, and DSU took advantage. The Blazers scored six runs in the stanza to seal the deal in the 9-0 victory. Feickert (18-4) threw yet another shutout to earn the win from the circle.
The Urban Knights struck first on a steal at home to give them the 1-0 advantage. Once again, DSU ran away with it in the fifth. Yung knocked in a two-run double, and Hartman brought in two with a single on back-to-back at bats to give DSU a 7-1 win.
Yung finished 3-4 with two RBIs, and Beardshear threw her eighth complete-game in her 10th win of the year.
“It was a long road trip,” said Beardshear, a junior exercise science major from Tucson, Arizona. “We stayed focused and played great. We just have a few minor adjustments to make before we play these big games to end the season.”
DSU will stay close to home for the remainder of the season as it heads to Cedar City to face Division I Southern Utah University Wednesday at 3 p.m. before wrapping up conference play with a six-game homestand.
