IRVINE, Calif. – The PacWest split two games to open the NCAA Softball West Regional on Thursday. Dixie State won a back-and-forth battle with Sonoma State, and California Baptist was shutout by Humboldt State.
Dixie State 5 – Sonoma State 4 (Monterey Bay Regional)
Bailey Gaffin drove in the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift No. 4 Dixie State over No. 5 Sonoma State, 5-4. Gaffin drove a sac fly to center field to score
Shelby Yung, who led off the Trailblazer seventh with a triple. Dixie State will play No. 8 Western Washington on Friday at 11 a.m.
Sonoma State jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but a solo home run by
Kenzie Sawyer and a two-run homer from
Arista Honey tied the score at three after the second inning.
Josey Hartman put the Trailblazers up by one with a sac fly to center field in the fourth, but the Seawolves bounced right back with a solo home run on the first batter in the fifth.
Alexis Barkwell came in for Dixie State, and threw three no-hit innings to set up the Yung-Gaffin winner.
Humboldt State 1 – California Baptist 0 (Chico State Regional)
No. 7 California Baptist was shutout by No. 2 Humboldt State, 1-0, to open the Chico State Regional. The Lancers will play No. 3 Chico State in an elimination game on Friday at 1:30 p.m.
Humboldt State scored the game’s only run in the first inning. The Jacks’ leadoff batter reached on an error and advanced to third on a sac bunt and a stolen base. CBU starter
Ciara Stapp then hit three-consecutive batters, forcing in the run. Stapp worked out of the inning without further damage and allowed only two Jacks to reach second through the fifth inning.
CBU threatened in the fourth, with a leadoff double and a walk, but could not advance the runners. In the seventh, a single and a sac bunt put the tying run on second with two outs, but a strikeout ended the game.