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Cal St. Stanislaus beats Dixie State 5-1 in Game 1 of Super Regional
(Courtesy Dixie State Sports Information)
ST. GEORGE, UT - Jennifer Arnold's three-run home
run in the fifth inning was the key blow as California
State-Stanislaus defeated Dixie State 5-1 in the NCAA Division II
West Super Regional on Friday.
Arnold had failed to hit the ball out of the infield in her two previous at-bats.
The Warriors finished with nine hits. Britney Borba and Ashlee Genseal each had two. Seven of the nine batters had hits.
The Warriors (35-19) led just 1-0 before Arnold's two-out blast. They had scored their first run in the second inning when Kimiko Wright walked, stole second and Borba doubled.
After Brittany Balanesi walked, Dixie State's Ashley McFarland threw Borba out at the plate on a delayed double steal attempt. That was the final out of the inning.
Jessica Gaumnitz and Dixie State's Lauren Folta battled pitch-for-pitch over the next two innings.
Folta got into trouble in the fifth when Alyssa Guzman singled. Erica McIntyre and Meghan Franksen both hit into fielder's choice plays before Arnold homered to left field.
Borba drove home the Warriors' fifth run in the sixth inning with a single. Nikky Rissetto had singled ahead of her and took second on a passed ball.
Dixie State (39-11) finally broke through in the sixth inning. Bailie Hicken opened the inning with an infield single. She stole second and advanced to third on Dabney McIntyre's single. Hicken scored on a throwing error on that hit.
Following a popout, McIntyre was caught stealing. McFarland and Haley Schumers both walked before Gaumnitz struck out Kelsey Mendenhall to end the threat.
In the seventh Arnold replaced Gaumnitz on the mound. She walked Breanna Egge to open the inning, then got the next three batters on infield grounders.
The two teams will play again on Saturday with the first pitch scheduled at 11 a.m. MDT. Cal State-Stanislaus must win one game to earn a berth in the College World Series. Dixie State must win two in the best-of-three series.
