SUU Softball Takes Series with 8-6 Victory over Weber State

Softball 4/14/2012 12:13:00 AM SUU Strategic Communication

Axe Throws No-Hitter as T-Birds Split in Fort Wayne

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Southern Utah University's Danielle Axe threw the first Thunderbird no-hitter of the season as SUU split a pair of conference games at IPFW on Friday afternoon. The T-Birds dropped a 12-4 decision in game one before recording a 1-0 victory in game two.

Southern Utah built an early 4-0 lead in game one, scoring runs in the first and second innings. The T-Birds put their first lights on the board on an RBI single off the bat of Terysa Dyer in the opening frame, scoring Mikkel Griffin from second.

Kadi Henderson led off the third inning with a solo home run, marking her third big fly of the week. Southern Utah kept the pressure on in the inning as a pair of singles by Haylee Hoch and Megan Gurski, followed by a walk drawn by Tessa Loewen loaded the bases. Two batters later, Kelsey Bryant drilled a single up the middle, scoring Hoch and Gurski and capping SUU's scoring in the frame.

Thunderbird bats then went cold over the final four innings with the team unable to advance past first and suffering two three-and-outs in the third and fifth. IPFW capitalized on the lull and rattled off 12 unanswered runs, including five in the bottom of the sixth to punctuate the 12-4 run-rule victory.

Southern Utah bounced back in game two and, as irony would have it, captured the 1-0 victory behind a no-hitter by Danielle Axe against the top pitching team in the Summit League. Axe allowed only three base runners all game on a walk and two T-Bird errors and finished her day with five strikeouts.

SUU scored its run on a solo home run by Bryant in the first, accounting for one of her two hits during the game. The Thunderbirds also threatened in the fourth when Bryant led off the inning with a single and then moved to second on a wild pitch. However, nothing came of the scoring chance as was the case in the sixth inning when a fielder's choice ended the frame with the bases loaded.

The two teams remain tied in the Summit League standings with the split, but will meet again in the series finale tomorrow morning. The first pitch is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (MT) with live stats anticipated to be available online at www.suutbirds.com.

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