Eight homeruns and five games later, Dixie State University is rolling on with a record of 8-1.
DSU blazed through its competition at the Dixie State Easton Classic and game one against Colorado Mesa University but fell short in game two.
The Trailblazers have hit more homeruns in their current preseason then they did all of the 2016 season.
Easton Classic day one
DSU found redemption mid game against Colorado State University-Pueblo Thursday in the Dixie State Easton Classic tournament.
Both teams, who had the same cleats, team colors and look-a-like catchers, failed to score in the first three innings of the game.
“Honestly, I think it was just a good pitchers duel,” said senior outfielder Shelby Yung, a communication major from Upland, California. “We had Alex pitching really well, and then their pitcher we haven’t seen before. Personally we struggle with lefties so it takes us a little while to get adjusted to that.”
CSU-P started the scoring in the top of the fourth with a three-run homer over the center field fence.
DSU managed to put up one run in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI from sophomore catcher Jessica Gonzalez.
Freshman first-baseman Riley Tyteca reached on a single, which snuck past the third-baseman allowing junior outfielder Janessa Bassett and sophomore second-baseman Bailey Gaffin to glide into home plate to even the score.
Moments later Gonzalez put the ball over the leftfield fence scoring herself and Tyteca.
DSU held CSU-P for the remainder of the game leaving the final score 5-3.
Easton Classic day two
DSU charged over St. Edwards University and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Friday in back-to-back games.
The Trailblazers put up three runs early in game one at the bottom of the first against the SEU Hilltoppers with a three-run homer from Gonzalez.
DSU continued aggressively into the bottom of the fifth scoring once on a double from junior outfielder Kenzie Sawyer another due to a walk with loaded bases, and on a wild pitch from SEU.
Senior first-baseman Mallory Paulson, a business administration major from Fuita, Colorado, said “There is not a bad hitter in our line-up and there’s not a bad hitter on our bench. Even if girls are struggling with the pitches there is someone that can fill their role really easily.”
SEU remained scoreless throughout the entirety of the game. The Trailblazers mercy-ruled the Hilltoppers 8-0.
DSU started the game against the UCCS Mountain Lions with six runs in the first three innings with a few singles, errors and one homerun from sophomore third-baseman Dani Bartholf.
No one scored again until the seventh inning. DSU put up two more runs and UCCS hit a homerun over center field fence, leaving the score 8-1.
Sunday double-header
The Trailblazers’ winning streak ended Sunday in game two of the double-header against CMU.
Game one against CMU brought a similar vibe felt in the Trailblazers previous games. The players were aggressive at the plate sending three balls over the fence with one homerun from Gonzalez and two from senior first-baseman Mallory Paulson. DSU won the game 12-4.
DSU fell behind early in game two, giving up six runs to CMU.
“We made some mistakes pitching wise in the first inning that put us down 6-0 before we were out of the top of the first inning,” head coach Randy Simkins said. “We were behind in the count too much but after the first inning Madi Dove threw a 1-hitter.”
The defense was able to hold the Mavericks at six runs for the remainder of the game and the offense attempted for a comeback but was shy two runs. CMU beat the Trailblazers 5-6.
Gonzalez, a business administration major from Kingsburg, California, and PacWest player of the week as of Monday, said, “It was a tough loss but I think we handled better than we possibly could have. After that first inning, most teams typically shut down and just give up. Our team did a good job of pumping each other up and trying to those runs across, we just came up short a little bit.”
DSU is set to face Lubbock Christian University Friday at 9:30 a.m. at the Cactus Classic in Tucson, Arizona.
