TUCSON, Ariz. – The (RV) Dickinson State University (DSU) softball team split a pair of games during their third day in sunny Arizona. The Blue Hawks defeated No. 9 Olivet Nazarene University (ONU) 8-7, before falling to William Penn University (WPU) 8-5. With the split, the Blue Hawks move to 7-7 on the year.

Game One: Dickinson State University 8, No. 9 Olivet Nazarene University 7

It was a game of national recognized opponents as Dickinson State, who is receiving votes in the NAIA poll, defeated the No. 9 ranked Tigers by a score of 8-7. With the win, it goes down as defeating the highest-ranked opponent during the Fleury coaching era, since the 6-1 victory against No. 5 – Lubbock Christian – dating back during the 2010 season.

The Blue Hawks got things rolling in the first inning after a lead-off single by Rhea Paiva. On the next at-bat, Paiva moved into scoring position after a sacrifice by Katelyn Kubitschek. After a single by Ari Martinez to advance all the runners on base, Hailey Enriquez doubled to left field to bring home Paiva for the early 1-0 lead. The Blue Hawks would double their lead to 2-0 after an RBI single by Kara Conway to score Martinez.

After a one-two-three inning by the DSU defense, the Blue Hawks poured in three more runs for the early 5-0 lead after two innings. After a lead-off walk drawn by Emilie Sickler, two consecutive outs stranded Sickler on first base. With two outs, Kubitschek and Martinez reach base on back-to-back errors by ONU's shortstop to score Sickler. Enriquez made it count as she hit a hard ground ball to center field to score Kubitschek and Martinez for the 5-0 lead. DSU would tag on another run in the top of the third inning off the bat of Ashley Nash to score Conway – who reached on a single to left field.

Over the next two innings, the Tigers got within one as they tagged on five unanswered runs. DSU bumped their lead back up to two (7-5) after Kennedy Kuntz scored on a passed ball by ONU in the fifth inning. ONU continued their offensive threat – as they tied things at 7-7 off a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Kubitschek started the sixth inning with a lead-off walk before moving into scoring position after a Martinez's sacrifice to the ONU pitcher. After a ground out on the next at-bat for the second out, the Blue Hawks rallied and capitalized on an error by ONU's second baseman to score Kubitschek after a hard-hit ball by Mitchell.

After a hitless sixth inning for the Tigers and a three-and-out for the Blue Hawk offense in the top of the seventh, relief pitcher Dallis Mitchell, ended any hopes of a Tiger comeback as she forced the Tigers' offense into a one-two-three inning to seal the 8-7 win.

From the Box Score –

A total of eight errors were committed during the 8-7 victory – with Olivet Nazarene racking up five to DSU's three. DSU outhit the Tigers' offense 10-9 – with Hailey Enriquez leading the attack with three hits. Teammate Kara Conway rounded out the final Blue Hawk with a multiple hit game with two. The final five hits came off the bats of Rhea Paiva, Katelyn Kubitschek, Ari Martinez, Madison Stephens, and Emilie Sickler. Enriquez led the team with three RBIs, while Kubitschek and Martinez each crossed home plate twice to lead the team in runs.

From the mound, starting pitcher Ari Martinez got the win for the Blue Hawks as she let up seven runs (3ER) off nine hits, while striking out two. Teammate Dallis Mitchell entered the game in the bottom of the sixth and shut down six straight batters for the save.

Game Two: Dickinson State University 5, William Penn University 8

In the second game of the day, William Penn started off the scoring in the top of the first inning for the early 2-0 advantage. However, DSU responded with a three-run inning of their own to take the slight one-run lead after the first inning of action. With one out, Kubitschek reached base on an error by the left fielder and would advance to third base on the same error. Ari Martinez connected for a single to left field to bring home Kubitschek to cut WPU's lead in half. After a strikeout for the second out, the Blue Hawks continued to get things going offensively with two outs as Dallis Mitchell singled on a fly ball to right field and would cross home plate with teammate Martinez after a Kara Conway double to left field.

Both teams remained scoreless over the next three innings until WPU added another run to tie things at 3-3. DSU responded again in the bottom half of the inning with a two-run inning for the 5-3 lead. After another scoreless inning for both teams, WPU tagged on five runs to come away with the 8-5 win during the final inning of play.

From the Box Score –

Of the team's eight hits in the loss, Kara Conway led the team by going 3-for-4 with the only extra-base hit in the game with a double. Teammates Rhea Paiva, Ari Martinez, Hailey Enriquez, Dallis Mitchell, and Emilie Sickler added the final five hits. Conway also led the teams in RBIs with three.

Arjana Eilers suffered the loss for the Blue Hawks as she gave up four runs (4ER) off four hits in the final inning. Dallis Mitchell let up three runs (3ER) off four hits in six innings of work, while teammate Ari Martinez recorded one run (1ER) off one single hit in five batters faced.