CEDAR CITY, Utah – Southern Utah (10-18) dropped to Idaho State (19-13) in back-to-back games to open the three-game series. The Thunderbirds fell to the Bengals 9-1 in the first game and 7-1 in the second.
“It was a frustrating day. We never expect to lose. Idaho State is a very good team, but we could have played them much better,” head coach Tom Gray said. “You can't control what's in the past. It's over with and we have to make adjustments and move forward from there.”
The opening two innings of the opening game of the series were scoreless before Idaho State's Vicky Galasso knocked over a three-run homer to put the game's first runs on the board. Southern Utah failed to answer as the Bengals kept the rally going into the fourth inning as they tacked on six runs, including a second Galasso home run.
“They are a good hitting team. You just have to tip your hat,” Gray said. “If you bring up Galasso with runners on base, she's going to do damage. We have to minimize that opportunity.”
Southern Utah's Taylor Dumas singled through the left side to open the bottom of the fifth before Katie Greenberg reached first on a fielder's choice to advance Dumas to second. Katie Wolf doubled to score Dumas and put the Thunderbirds lone run on the board. The mercy rule was enforced in the bottom of the fifth as the Bengals captured the win, 9-1.
Greenberg was in the circle for Southern Utah in the first game as the Thunderbirds rounded out the matchup with zero errors to Idaho State's one.
“We need to string our hits together. Our defense was completely fine. We need to focus more on our hitting and doing that consecutively throughout our lineup,” Lyndsey Healey commented. “Idaho State has really, really good hitters on their team. We just need to play to their weaknesses instead of giving into their strong points.”
The opening two innings of the second matchup were scoreless before Idaho State tacked up two runs in the top of three. The Bengals added a run in the fourth, a run in the fifth, and a three-run homer in the sixth to enter the final inning with a 7-0 lead.
Wolf doubled to open the bottom of seven before Sara Park grounded out to advance Wolf to third. Healey singled through the left side to score Wolf and round out the game. Idaho State earned its second win of the day, 7-1.
Park led the Thunderbirds with three hits in the loss. Hannah Wynn pitched five innings before Ashley Ostler relieved Wynn in the final two.
Southern Utah will take on Idaho State in its final game of the series on Sat., Mar. 27, at noon.
“We need to come out (tomorrow) with a positive attitude. Today is done and over with,” Healey explained. “There is nothing we can do about, so we just need to come out and play our game tomorrow.”
