Tucson, Arizona - The Thunderbird softball team continued play at the at the Hillenbrand Invitational on Friday, with a pair of teams from big name conferences. SUU fell to Purdue out of the Big 10, and No. 13 Arizona for the second time this season out of the Pac-12.

SUU took on Purdue in the morning, and played their nightcap against the Wildcats.

No. 13 Arizona 10, SUU 0

The late game for the Thunderbirds on Friday resulted in their first shutout of the young season, as they fell to the nationally ranked Wildcats 10-0.

Arizona jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning, putting three runs on the board in a hurry.

The Wildcats put up two runs in the bottom of the second before the Thunderbirds were able to hold them score less in the third.

When the fourth inning rolled around the Thunderbirds had still not been able to produce a run, and Arizona put five more on the board during the bottom of the frame. The game was called in the fifth inning, resulting in a Wildcat victory.

The Thunderbirds finished with four hits, two from Jordan Theurer and one apiece from Kendall Kaptizke and Rylie Nance.  

Arizona's Mo Mercado finished the night with three RBIs, and Katiyana Mauga had two.

SUU's Haley Wall sped three innings in the circle, giving up seven runs on eight hits.

“The second game against Arizona, I thought we played with much better energy and focus,” SUU head coach Tom Gray said about his team's effort. “They are extremely athletic and probably one of the best teams we will see all year. I was happy with how we competed.”

Purdue 8, SUU 1

The Thunderbirds started the day with a matchup with the Purdue Boilermakers, and fell to their opponent from the Big 10 8-1.

The two teams played three scoreless innings before the Thunderbirds were able to get on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The T-Birds scored when Kendall Kapitzke singled to right field, driving Megan Reed across home plate and putting SUU up 1-0.

Kapitzke had two of the Thunderbirds three hits of the game.

SUU's run brought the bats of Purdue alive as well, as they brought three runs across the plate in the fifth inning, with an RBI double and another RBI single.

The Boilermakers were able to put up five more runs in the top of the seventh, with both a two-run RBI single and a three-run homer off the bat of Lexi Huffman.

Kirsten Hostetler saw the most time in the circle for the Thunderbirds pitching for six inning and allowing seven runs on 11 hits. Purdue's Lilly Fecho pitched the entire game for Purdue, only giving up one run on three hits.

“This morning we just needed to have better approaches at the plate,” Gray said. “The young lady that Purdue pitched did a great job of moving the ball and hitting her spots. I do believe we will get there, it is just a matter of staying the course.”

The Thunderbirds will continue play on Saturday in Tucson, with games against UC Santa Barbara and North Texas. Those games are tabbed to start at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. respectively.