CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah (10-16) took a sixth inning rally to push by Dixie State (29-6) for a 5-4 victory to snap the Red Storm's 23-game winning-streak. The Thunderbirds look to keep the momentum rolling as they return to Big Sky play this weekend by hosting Idaho State.
“This win is big. For some reason, we always struggle against Dixie,” Kelli Hales said. “It feels good to beat them in the spring, especially going into this weekend with Idaho State.”
Katie Greenberg was in the circle in the Thunderbirds victory and knocked a double for two RBIs in the second inning. Southern Utah finished with four hits to Dixie's 10.
“Our kids came out, they were aggressive, and they did a really great job,” head coach Tom Gray said. “We seem to be able to come back from a few runs down. We've done that a lot lately.”
The Red Storm took an early 3-0 lead over Southern Utah in the first inning before the T-Birds cranked their momentum in the bottom of two to cut the gap to one. Kaitlin Williams walked to first before Jordan Theurer knocked a single to push Williams to second and get on base. SUU suffered back-to-back outs before Katie Greenberg came through with a clutch double to earn Southern Utah two runs.
“Dixie State is a very good base running team and it felt good to beat them at their own game,” Katie Greenberg commented. “This was a good confidence builder for us. We just need to go out and play softball. Idaho State is a very good team, but if we go out and play like we know how, we'll do very well.”
The following three innings were scoreless as the bottom of the sixth saw a 3-2 Dixie State lead. Sara Park singled to open the rally before Lyndsey Healey reached first on a fielder's choice to push Park to second. Williams walked to load the bases before Theurer flied out to left field to score Park. Williams advanced to second and Healey advanced to third on a wild pitch before Hales singled to score Williams and Healey.
“The girls have really fallen into a groove. They feel good about themselves and they know they are never out of a game,” Gray said. “They come out and battle.”
Southern Utah held Dixie State to just one run in the top of the seventh to earn a tight 5-4 victory over the Red Storm.
“Our confidence is consistently building a little bit at a time,” Gray commented. “When Idaho State comes in this weekend, we'll play well.”
The Thunderbirds will host Big Sky Idaho State on Friday, Mar. 27, at 12 p.m. and again on Saturday, Mar. 28, at 12 p.m.
