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The Dixie State softball team fell, 13-9, in a non-conference matchup at Division I foe Southern Utah on Wednesday in Cedar City, Utah.
Dixie State played 18 different players in the game, including four pitchers, while Aryn Feickert rested in advance of DSU’s six-game PacWest home stand next week.
The Trailblazers (32-11) opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning. Janessa Bassett singled to start things off, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Bassett later scored when Autumn Woodfall hit a ground ball to shortstop and reached on a fielder’s choice. Shelby Yung scored the second run of the inning when Mallory Paulson drove a sacrifice fly to right field.
SUU answered in the bottom of the second with a solo home run, the first of four home runs on the day for the Thunderbirds.
Dixie State opened its largest lead of the game in the top of the third, scoring four runs to take a 6-1 advantage. With two on and no outs, Woodfall singled through the left side, scoring Yung and Arista Honey. Three batters later, Bailey Gaffin doubled to center field, bringing home Woodfall. Brooklyn Beardshear scored the final run of the inning when Kristie Johnson hit a sacrifice fly to right field.
SUU responded with grand slams in the next three innings, while Honey drove a sacrifice fly to right field for DSU in the fourth inning. After five innings, the Thunderbirds led 13-7.
The Trailblazers cut the deficit to the final score of 13-9 in the top of the sixth inning. Kaitlyn Delange, in her Cedar City homecoming, led things off with her first career home run, sending the pitch over the wall in center field. Taylor Godfrey scored later in the inning when Cassidy Morton reached on a fielder’s choice. With one out and two on, DSU looked to cut further into the lead but would get no closer as SUU closed out the win.
Bassett led the way at the plate for DSU, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, while Woodfall went 1-for-3 with three RBIs.
The Trailblazers wrap up the regular season with a six-game home stand next week, hosting BYU-Hawaii on Monday and Concordia on Friday and Saturday.
Keric Seegmiller is Assistant Coordinator of Media Relations at Dixie State University and the Voice of Trailblazer Athletics. Contact him at keric.seegmiller@dixie.edu.