BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2 Dixie State 3, Sonoma State 1 -- Box Score
Sonoma State 5, Western Oregon 2 -- Box Score

LAS VEGAS --  Vanessa Currie hit a pair of home runs and Megan Konieczka and Ancia Purdy combined to go 8 for 14 at the plate with a double and two runs scored, but the Sonoma State softball team had to settle for a split on Saturday, falling 3-1 to 24th-ranked Dixie State before taking a 5-2 decision from Western Oregon on day two of the MSUB Desert Stinger in Las Vegas.  The Seawolves move to 4-2 this season and will play one more game in Sin City on Sunday (against Grand Canyon) before returning home to open the CCAA schedule on Friday against San Francisco State.

Dixie State 3, Sonoma State 1

After a scoreless top half of the first inning for the Seawolves, the Red Storm didn't waste any time to put a couple of runs across the plate, thanks to a two-run home run by Anna Cue off of Amanda Llerena.  Dixie State, ranked at No. 24 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll, then tacked on an extra run in the third with an RBI single by Kylee Bufton to put Dixie up 3-0.

Sonoma State finally put one on the board when Currie smashed a solo home run to leadoff the fourth inning.  The Seawolves put pressure on Dixie State pitcher Michelle Duncan after Currie's home run, as Hayley Condon and Ally Bryant stood on third and second bases, respectively, with just one out.  However, Red Storm catcher Maria Reiter picked Condon off third and Duncan got Holli Brown to ground out to end the inning.

Again, this time in the fifth inning, Sonoma put a pair of runners in scoring position, but Duncan worked herself out of the jam to keep the Seawolves trailing by two.  She would then cruise the rest of the way to earn the 3-1 win over SSU, allowing just five hits and the lone run to Currie.  Duncan fanned seven Sonoma State players en route to her second win of the year.

Purdy had a pair of hits in the ballgame, while Konieczka, Condon and Currie accounted for the other three hits.  Llerena (2-1) suffered her first collegiate loss, allowing four hits, three runs and three walks, in addition to six strikeouts.

Sonoma State 5, Western Oregon 2

Both teams would be held scoreless through the first two innings, but Currie's bat would come alive once again.  With runners on first and second, the senior delivered a two-run double down the left field line that scored Konieczka and Jayme Tickemyer to put Sonoma up 2-0.  Palermo then brought Currie home two batters later on a single up the middle.

Samantha Lipperd, meanwhile, took care of business in the pitcher's circle, allowing only two hits and striking out six through four scoreless innings.  However, she would run into a bit of trouble in the fifth, scattering three hits and allowing a run, cutting the Western Oregon deficit to 3-1.

In the seventh, Currie continued to wreak havoc at the plate, smashing her second home run of the day, a two-run shot to give the Seawolves a 5-1 advantage.  The Wolves got a run back in the bottom half of the seventh on a leadoff homer by WOU pitcher Hannah Pomeroy, but Lipperd struckout two batters and drew a game-ending groundout to secure the 5-2 win for Sonoma State. 

While she gave up two runs on seven hits, Lipperd struckout 13 of the 27 batters she faced in the contest, as she improved to 2-1 this season.  Konieczka paced the SSU offense with three hits and two runs scored, followed by Purdy, Currie, Palermo and Samantha Beauchamp, who all had two hits apiece.  Condon and Aubrie Tolliver also recorded a hit in the game for the Seawolves, who amassed for 13 hits off of WOU's Pomeroy (1-2).

Sonoma State will wrap up the MSUB Desert Stinger on Sunday after taking on Grand Canyon.  First pitch is set for 2:00 p.m.