TEMPE, ARIZ. – February 13, 2010 – Southern Utah softball
dropped both matches on the third day of play at the Kajikawa Classic, hosted
by Arizona State. SUU met San
Diego State of the Mountain West Conference in the morning game—the Aztecs
prevailing 9-4.
In the afternoon match-up the Thunderbirds met with Cal
State-Fullerton, falling by a 14-1 score.
GAME ONE:
The Aztecs tallied 11 hits, jumping out to an early 6-0
lead, scoring three runs in the second and three runs in the third.
Southern Utah responded with four runs in the bottom half of
the third. Norian James led things
off with a double down the right field line, and scored on Brittany Henderson's
single. Aly Daniels then lifted a
two-run shot to left-center—her first homer of the season.
The final Thunderbird run came on a solo-home run to
straight-away center by freshman left fielder Whitnie Griffith, making it 6-4,
SDSU.
But the Aztecs doused any hopes for a Thunderbird comeback,
scoring one more in the fourth, and two more in the sixth, while holding SUU
hitless for the remainder of the game.
Bailey Micetich (1-0) picked up the win in five innings of
relief. Bubba Kearns (1-1)
suffered her first loss after her victory over Ohio on Friday.
GAME TWO:
Cal State-Fullerton scored early and often in route to a
14-1 victory over Southern Utah—the second game on the day for the
Thunderbirds.
Anderson homered in the opening frame to put the Titans to a
quick 1-0 lead. Cal State added
three more in the top of the second to make it 4-0, Titans.
But the real damage came in the third when the Titan
sluggers exploded for eight runs on seven hits and three Thunderbird miscues.
Cal State-Fullerton added two more in the top of the
fifth. The lone Thunderbird run
came in the bottom half of that frame but it was far short of that needed to
extend the game past the fifth inning—the Titans prevailing by mercy rule.
The Thunderbird's four hits came from Jenavieve Purcell,
Danielle Swopes, Norian James, and Britanny Henderson.
The Thunderbirds meet Oregon State, and the host--Arizona State
Sunday, in the final day of the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe.
