Thunderbirds Take Series in South Dakota with Strong Pitching

BROOKINGS, S.D. - April 9 - Southern Utah University softball moved to 18-21 overall and 9-3 in Summit League play with a 2-1 victory over South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon. The victory came, in large part, to a dominating pitching performance from SUU starter Heather Black as SUU retained the top spot in the Summit League standings.

South Dakota State recorded the first run of the game on a pair of singles in the bottom of the first inning. However the base knocks proved to be two of only three hits for the Jackrabbits on the day as Black struck out the final two batters to end the inning and begin a stretch of eight consecutive punch outs.

Southern Utah tied the game in the top of the second inning, showing patience at the plate and drawing four consecutive walks with Nicole Huntsman tallying the RBI on the fourth free pass. SUU looked like it would score in the top of the fifth with runners on first and second, but a strikeout and fly ball ended the threat as the T-Birds left nine runners on base during the day.

The winning run for Southern Utah ultimately crossed the plate in the top of the seventh inning as Aly Daniels hit a one-out double to put herself in scoring position. Darleen Fernandez drove in the run on an RBI single up the middle to give the Thunderbirds the 2-1 advantage.

Black then cemented the victory for SUU as she capped off a 15-strikeout performance on the day with three during the final frame to end the game. Black set a new career high with the 15 strikeouts on the day, throwing her 16th complete game of the season after 7.0 innings where she allowed only one run on three hits with no walks.

Southern Utah will return to action on Wednesday afternoon when the Thunderbirds host the Dixie State Red Storm in the annual "Swing for Life" game. Fans are encouraged to bring donations for breast cancer research with the game scheduled to begin at 4:00 p.m. at Kathryn Berg Field.

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