TEMPE, ARIZ. – February 11, 2010 – Southern Utah was out-hit
by the Ohio 11-7, but was able to sneak past one extra run to claim a 7-6
victory in the opening game of the 2010 softball season for both teams.
The Thunderbirds met up with former coach Jodie Hermanek and
her Bobcats on the first day of the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
Of the reunion, SUU Coach Julie Strand said, “It was
exciting. Some of our upper
classmen who played for Jodie have really been looking forward to this game.”
A combination of hits and miscues put Ohio ahead 2-0 in the
second. Deanna Hartsough led
off with a single, followed by a double by Paige Kemezis. Both would advance
and score on successive wild pitches.
The Bobcats added one more in the fourth to make it 3-0.
The Thunderbirds answered in the bottom half of the frame
with three runs. Norian James led
off with a base-on-balls. James
advanced to third and Brittany Henderson reached first on a fielder's choice
and throwing error. Henderson then
stole second. Aly Daniels drove in
both with a single.
Daniels advanced to third on a ground out, and scored when
Whitney Griffith singled. The
inning ended when Griffith was caught stealing, but not before the Thunderbirds
knotted the score at 3.
Southern Utah moved ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth,
when a pair of walks, two errors, and a single by Norian James resulted in two
more Thunderbird runs.
Ohio tied the score with two runs of their own in the top of
the sixth, but SUU regained the 6-5 lead in the bottom half on Aly Jensen's
pinch-hit single, followed by Nicole Huntsman's RBI double.
The Bobcats again answered the call with a tying run in the
top-half of the seventh, but final inning heroics provided the winning margin
for the Thunderbirds.
Jenavieve Purcell drew a lead-off walk, stole second, and advanced
to third on a fielder's choice.
Purcell then slid under the tag of Bobcat catcher Jordan Paden on
Brittany Henderson's infield single to secure the 7-6 win.
Southern Utah next meets Texas Tech at 5:00pm on Friday as
the Kajikawa Classic continues.
