CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah (2-7)will hit the field after two weeks of practice by opening its six-game weekend against Northwestern University (4-9), followed by Cal State Fullerton (9-6), Seattle (5-9), UCLA (13-4), Utah Valley (5-6) and Long Beach State (7-8).
“We've worked really hard on fundamentals. We focused a lot on hitting and it really clicked for a couple of the kids. Hitting is a dicey thing, it comes and goes. If we can consistently put good swings on the ball it will help us a lot,” coach Tom Gray commented. “This week is going to be a huge challenge. We're going to see pitching that we haven't seen yet. We'll see what happens, but I expect the girls to compete.”
The Thunderbirds will hit off the Louisville Slugger Invitational against Northwestern University. The Wildcats hold a 4-9 record on the season and have pulled wins over North Carolina, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and South Carolina. Andrea DiPrima leads the Wildcats at the plate with five runs on the season, 13 hits, four doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI's. Kristen Wood and Amy Letourneau have each pitched two wins on the season. Kate Drohan is the head coach of the Wildcats.
Cal State Fullerton sits 9-6 on the season and will enter the invitational on a two game winning streak, including victories over Nevada (9-1) and Oklahoma State (6-5). CSUF has also picked up wins over Purdue, Idaho State, Notre Dame, Northwestern State, Boise State, BYU and Utah. Cal State Fullerton currently holds a .279 batting average and a .402 on base percentage. Kelly Ford is under her third season as head coach.
“We're trying to get our hitting a lot better and being aggressive,” Jordan Theurer said. “We all want to get back on the field. We've been working so hard and hopefully that hard work pays off.”
Seattle University has picked up wins this season over Western Michigan, Bradley, The University of Nevada, New Mexico and Santa Clara. SU will enter the tournament after most recently suffering a 5-7 loss to San Jose State. Bubba Morrow leads her team with 16 hits, three doubles, six home runs, 13 RBI's and a .421 hitting percentage. Mandie Sugita leads Seattle University on the mound with three wins and two losses.
Southern Utah will take on Pac-12 UCLA for its fourth game of the invitational. The Bruins sit 13-4, and enjoyed a seven-game winning streak before suffering a lost to Texas. UCLA most recently enjoyed a 5-1 win over Nebraska. Allexis Bennet and Delaney Spaulding lead the Bruins with .587 and .440 hitting percentages, respectively. Kelly Inouye-Perez is under her ninth year as head coach.
Utah Valley most recently picked up wins over New Mexico and Cal State Fullerton before falling to Cal State Northridge. The Wolverines are led by Taleigh Williams, averaging a .400 hitting percentage. Brittney Vansway leads UVU in RBI's with nine on the season.
The Thunderbirds will wrap up the tournament by taking on Long Beach State. LBS has lost five of its last six games, which includes losses to Northwestern, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Maryland and a 4-2 win over Syracuse. Long Beach State averages a .263 batting average.
“We start off a little slow, so if we can go out and get a couple runs in the first couple innings then hopefully it will just even out the rest of the game,” Kelli Hales stated. “We're doing good. We just need to finish games a little bit stronger.”
Southern Utah will face Northwestern and Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27, Seattle and UCLA on Feb. 28, before concluding the invitational by facing Utah Valley and Long Beach State on March 1.
