LAIE, Hawaii – The Dixie State College softball team continued their winning ways today by sweeping a doubleheader from BYU-Hawaii 7-3 and 4-2.
Dixie State (31-10, 21-3 PWC) pitcher Lauren Folta (Erda. UT/Tooele High School) pitched her 14th complete game of the season, allowing eight hits and giving up no earned runs while striking out three Seasider (5-33, 3-23 PWC) batters. Folta improves to 15-5 on the season.
Jaelle Judkins (Saint George, UT/Dixie High School) led the game off with a double down the left field line and Breanna Egge (Las Vegas. NV/Centennial High School) followed with a double of her own plating Judkins and giving the advantage to the Red Storm 1-0.
Two batters later Kelsey Mendenhall (Tooele. UT/Tooele High School) doubled to right field scoring Egge from second base. Johnna Brown (Las Vegas, NV/Centennial High School) followed Mendenhall with an RBI single to left field and she would score the fourth run of the inning on an RBI triple by Cassi Merrill (Calgary, Alberta/Foundations for the Future Charter Academy).
Dixie State picked up another run in the 2nd inning when Anna Cue singled home Judkins who walked and then stole second base. The Red Storm led 5-1.
In the third inning, Mendenhall gave the Red Storm a 6-1 lead on a solo home run to left center field, her 11th of the season.
The final Red Storm run would come when Anna Cue (Murrieta Valley, CA/Murrieta Valley High School) hit her 11th home run of the season, depositing it over the center field fence.
Mendehall and Merrill each had three hits and Cue two in the 12 hit DSC attack.
In game two, Judkins led the game off with a single to left field, hitting in her 10th consecutive game. Two batters later, Cue doubled to right center giving the Red Storm an early 1-0 lead.
BYU-Hawaii would take a 2-1 lead in the top of the 2nd inning when two Red Storm miscues would give them the extra chances they would need.
Starting pitcher Brittnie Miller (Moab. UT/Grand High School) would hold the Seasiders for the rest of the game. She improved to 12-3 on the season by allowing only three hits, striking out seven batters and not giving up an earned run in seven innings of work.
Kylee Higgins (Layton. UT/Layton High School) and Ryanne Dacosin (Kaneohe, HI/Castle High School) had back-to-back singles in the 5th inning that would put just enough pressure on BYUH starting pitcher Stevens to get her to crack.
Judkins laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position.
Egge would follow with a single thru the left side scoring both runners and giving DSC a 3-2 lead. She would move to second on the throw to the plate.
Cue followed with a single to right center and pick up her team leading 49th RBI, giving DSC a 4-2 lead. Cue has raised her average to a team leading .461.
Cue picked up three hits and Dacosin had two hits in the Red Storm 10 hit attack.
Dixie State remains atop the PacWest Conference standings with a 21-3 record, but their next two opponents are both in second place with 18-4 marks.
They do battle with defending National Champion Hawaii Pacific Saturday at 4:00 PM MT. You can listen live to the games via the Internet at DixieAthletics.com or ThePacWest.com.