ST. GEORGE, Utah – Western Washington University junior first baseman Dakota Brooks went 4-for-5 and hit for the cycle, but the Vikings comeback attempt stalled in a 9-8 walk-off loss to MSU Denver Friday night at Canyons Softball Complex in the Dixie State Courtyard Classic.
WWU pounded out a season-high 14 hits, but also made a season-high four errors leading to six unearned runs. The Vikings dropped to 3-5 on the season and 2-1 in the Courtyard Classic, while MSUD improved to 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the tournament in St. George.
The cycle by Brooks featured her second home run of the season in the 3rd inning, a single in the 4th, leadoff triple in the 6th and completed with a double in the 7th inning. She becomes the second player in WWU history to hit for the cycle, joining current assistant coach Emily Benson who accomplished the hitting rarity March 3, 2019 vs. Montana State Billings.
After taking an early 2-0 lead, the Roadrunners forged ahead with a 5-run bottom of the 2nd inning. All five runs in the inning off Western freshman starter Kaelynn Simmons were unearned due to a fielding error. MSUD third baseman Olivia Dampier provided the big blow with a 3-run home runs.
WWU chipped away at the lead scoring a single run in the 3rd on Brooks' leadoff home run to right-center field and cut the deficit to one run at 5-4 plating a run in the 5th inning on a wild pitch. After MSUD scored a run in its half of the 5th inning, the Vikings took the lead with three runs in the top of the 6th inning. Brooks again ignited the really with a leadoff triple and scored in a single by pinch-hitterPaityn Cyr. Designated player Rylie Wales drove in the game-tying run with a single and left fielderLauren Lo pushed home the go-ahead run on a suicide squeeze play.
The Roadrunners evened things up at 7-7 with a leadoff home run in the 6th inning by left fielder Rebecca Gonzales.
Western again found some late-inning heroics taking the lead in the top of the 7th inning on a run-scoring single up the middle by freshman right fielder Macy Tarbox. Looking to add insurance runs, the Vikings stranded a pair of runners in scoring position to take a 8-7 lead into the bottom of the 7thinning.
MSU Denver put runners on first and third with two outs, and plated the game-tying run on a single through the left side of the infield by Gonzales. On the next play WWU pitcher Kira Doan mishandled a pop fly allowing the game-winning run to score.
In addition to the cycle by Brooks, second baseman Chantelle Shimabukuro extended her hitting streak to six consecutive games with her fifth multi-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Tarbox, Wales and Lo also recorded multi-hit games. Shimabukuro (.500/12-for-24) and Brooks (.440/11-for-25) have been the offensive leaders for the Vikings eight games into the 2020 season.
Doan (0-2) suffered the tough-luck loss allowing 6 hits and 4 runs (3 ER) in 5.0 innings of relief work.
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MSU Denver 9, WWU 8 (Feb. 7, 2020 at St. George, UT)
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Score by Innings
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1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
-
|
R
|
H
|
E
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LOB
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Record
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Western Washington
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0
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2
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1
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0
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1
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3
|
1
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-
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8
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14
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4
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13
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(3-5)
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MSU Denver
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0
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5
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0
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0
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1
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1
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2
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-
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9
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11
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0
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9
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(7-2)
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WWU – Simmons, Doan (2) and Christensen
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MSUD – McGhee, Lopez (4), Heitz (7) and Alexander
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Win: Heitz (1-1) Save: None Loss: Doan (0-2)
WWU HR: Brooks (2) MSUD HR: Gonzales (2), Dampier (2)
Time of Game: 2:50 Att: 71
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The Vikings (3-5) wrap up play in the Dixie State Courtyard Classic on Saturday facing St. Mary's (TX) at 12:30 pm MT/11:30 am PT and host Dixie State at 3:00 pm MT/2:00 pm PT. Games from Utah can be followed via live statistical updates at WWUVikings.com/SB_Stats.
Up-to-date season information, including season statistics, bios, roster, schedule and historical information can be viewed online at WWUVikings.com/Softball. WWU Softball also has a strong social media presence on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, so give them a follow!
The WWU softball program enters the 28th season in program history, with the Vikings posting a winning record in 17 seasons. WWU won the 1998 NAIA National Championship to record the school's first ever team national title and has made four trips to the NCAA Division II Regional Championships, last in 2017. Over the last six seasons (since 2014), the Vikings are 162-122 (.555) and won the 2017 GNAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA II West Regional in Monterey, California. Head coach Sheryl Gilmore is in her second season at the helm of the program in 2019, leading WWU to 27 wins, tied for the 10th-most in program history, in her first campaign in 2019.
