LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Simon Fraser University softball team opened their 2013 season with two losses at the Desert Stinger Tournament hosted by Montana State University Billings, falling to the 11th-ranked California State University Dominguez Hills Toros and the 25th-ranked Dixie State Red Storm.

The Red Storm defeated the Clan 13-4 after SFU dropped their first game of the day to the Toros, 22-3.

"We simply didn't perform well in any facet of the game," said head coach Mike Renney. "We had some sparks but not nearly enough. Sometimes one mistake can snowball and you just can't seem to get back on track. We were able to get all of our freshman into some aciton early on and that will pay off as we go forward."

Unearned runs hurt the Clan against Dixie State as only seven of the 13 runs scored by the Red Storm were earned.

After Dixie State scored one run in the top of the first the Clan responded with three in the bottom of the first to take a 3-1 lead.

The Red Storm answered right back in the top of the second with five runs to take a 6-3 lead and gradually added to that lead, before taking the 13-4 win.

Kelsie Hawkins (Victoria, BC) took the loss for SFU, allowing seven earned runs in five innings pitched while striking out four.

Kaitlyn Cameron (Langley, BC) had three runs batted in for the Clan thanks to a home run in the first inning. Trisha Bouchard (Montreal, QC) went two for three and scored a run for SFU in the loss.

In the Clan's first game of the day against CSU-Dominguez Hills, the Toros jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the first two innings against the Clan, scoring one in the first and five in the second.  

Cara Lukawesky (Coquitlam, BC) then shut her opponents out for the next three innings before exiting the game after the fifth inning.

In the sixth, with freshmen Alex Baylak (Regina, SK) and Mackenzie Bender (St. Albert, AB) in the circle, the Toros offence exploded for 16 runs on 11 hits and an error.

Lukawesky took the loss, pitching the entire game against Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Senior Carly Lepoutre (Pickering, ON) went two for three for the Clan with two runs batted in and scoring one herself.

"Despite the results I'm somewhat optimistic about the growth we showed at certain times. These other teams showed up to play and played well. We'll bounce back tomorrow and hopefully get better results. Ultimately we're using these early season games to gear up for conference play and the experience will pay off later in the season," finished Renney.

The Clan will look for their first win of 2013 on Saturday as they continue the Desert Stinger with games against Minot State at 4:30 p.m. and Grand Canyon at 7 p.m.