ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The Central Washington University softball team stays in St. George, Utah for five games as part of the Dixie State Courtyard Classic.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Thursday, February 6
Vs Hawaii Hilo
11:00 a.m.MT (10:00 a.m. PT)
Field 5 – Canyons Softball Complex
 
Thursday, February 6
Vs Colorado Mesa
4:00 p.m. MT (3:00 p.m. PT)
Field 2 – Canyons Softball Complex
 
Friday, February 7
Vs St. Mary's
10:00 a.m.
Field 5 – Canyons Softball Complex
 
Friday, February 7
Vs MSU Denver
3:00 p.m. MT (2:00 p.m. PT)
Field 4 – Canyons Softball Complex
 
Saturday, February 8
Vs Western New Mexico
10:00 a.m. MT (9:00 a.m. PT)
Field 2 – Canyons Softball Complex

QUOTABLE
"This tournament will be a good barometer for how we challenge ourselves to grow as a team," CWU Head Coach Alison Mitchell said.  "We have been growing as a unit each game, so Iwant to see that continue.  Individual players have stepped up in clutch situations, which has been great to see.  I know there's a few players on the verge of a breakout, so it'll be fun to see when it happens.  We take one game at a time and focus on what we need to do to improve little by little."
 
SCOUTING THE DIXIE STATE COURTYARD CLASSIC
The Courtyard Classic is a 14-team tournament with representatives from the GNAC, CCAA, PacWest, Lone Star Conference, and RMAC.
 
Hawaii Hilo has not played in 2020, however, last season the Vulcans posted a 31-17 record.  Hilo played Central Washington during the 2019 Desert Stinger, falling 3-1 to the Wildcats.  A scoreless game through seven innings, before CWU scored three runs.  Bethany Balucan, Rachael Johnson, and Savannah Egbert all came around to score.  Julia Reuble knocked an RBI-double as the dagger to Hilo's afternoon.  The Vulcans scored one run in the bottom of the eighth inning, but did not complete the comeback.
 
Kiara Lincoln led Hilo's offense in 2019.  She hit .333 in 48 games with five homeruns, 34 runs batted in, and an on-base percentage of .420. Lincoln led the Vulcans in average, homeruns, runs batted in, total bases (81), and tied for the team lead in slugging percentage (.500). Hilo hit .283 as a team, while scoring 261 runs.  In the circle, Valerie Alvarado returns after splitting the duties with Isabelle Mejia last season.  Mejia graduated following the season, leaving Alvarado as the returning ace.  She posted a 10-5 record over 116.2 innings.  Alvarado held an ERA of 3.12 last year and a WHIP of 1.45.
 
Colorado Mesa is also opening their 2020 season at the Courtyard Classic.  They finished with a record of 45-11 last season, including a 4-1 record in the Courtyard Classic.  The Mavericks took down the Wildcats 6-0 in their second game of the 2019 Courtyard Classic.
 
AnnMarie Torres returns to the lineup after hitting .458 in 2019.  She swatted 14 homeruns and drove in 68 runs.  Her homerun total was the second-most hit by a Maverick, as Kaila Jacobi finished with a total of 16 round trippers.  Torres slugged .817, while collecting a team-high 125 bases.  Colorado Mesa hit .347 as a unit and drove in 404 runs.  They held opposing hitters to an average of just .226, while only allowing 139 runs.  The Mavericks lost McKenzie Surface and Kimbri Herring to graduation.  The pair combined for a 41-8 record.  Surface posted a 2.24 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, while Herring finished with a 2.44 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP.  Paige Adair returns as a junior for the Mavericks.  She pitched in 15 games, six of which were starts. Over 49.2 innings pitched, she posted a 3-2 record with an ERA of 3.10.
 
St. Mary's University (TX) is 2-3 on the season.  They took part in the Arkansas Tech Winter Invitational, losing the opening three games to Southern Arkansas (10-0) and Arkansas Tech (6-5).  The Rattlers won the last two games of the tournament against the University of Minnesota Duluth (9-7) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (9-5).  Leading the Rattlers' offense is run production is Staci Johns.  She is just 3-for-13 on the season, but she has driven in four runs, hit one homerun, and one triple.  Tiffany Licon leads in hits, successfully reaching six times in 13 at-bats.  The Rattlers' pitching staff has struggled to start the year.  They have posted an ERA of 8.62 and a WHIP of 1.96.  Opposing teams are hitting .343 off the Rattlers.
 
Metro State is 3-2 on the season.  The Roadrunners have played three games against Humboldt State University and two against Sioux Falls.  They split the opening doubleheader against Humboldt State, then did the same against Sioux Falls, before taking game five against Humboldt State.  Kayla Banks leads Metro State's offense with eight hits in 16 at-bats.  She has a pair of doubles, and one triple, as well as three runs batted in.  Metro State is hitting .364 as a team, but opposing hitters have hit .358 against their pitching staff.  The Roadrunners' staff has posted an ERA of 8.58 and a WHIP of 2.48. 
 
Western New Mexico is 3-0 on the season after sweeping Adams State University to open the season.  The Mustangs outscored Adams State 30-15 in the series.  Through three games, Alicia Habitzreuther has posted an average of .667 (4-for-6).  Brittany Santellanes is hitting .333 with a pair of round trippers and five runs batted in.  The Mustangs have posted an average of .397 as a unit.  Jalyn McClain is 2-0 on the season in the circle.  Through 10.1 innings, she has a 2-0 record with an ERA of 2.71.  Opposing teams are hitting .329 off the Mustangs' pitchers.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Sydney Brown homered twice as the Wildcats split against Dixie State.  Brown launched a solo homerun in the top of the third inning.  She then went deep again in the fifth inning with a two-run shot.  She finished 3-for-4 with a pair of round trippers and four runs batted in in game one.  Central took game one, 5-2, before falling in game two, 13-5.