CEDAR CITY, Utah - For the second time this season the SUU softball team was able to top Brigham Young University, this time on their home turf at Kathryn Berg Field.
Both teams got their bats going in the fourth inning, as the Cougars posted four runs in the top of the frame, and the Thunderbirds were able to match it with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
SUU's runs came off a Morgan Leonard home run that scored two and a double off Payton Hart's bat that scored two more.
After a scoreless fifth inning the Cougars struck again, but the T-Birds were able to get out of the inning leaving two Cougars on base.
SUU scored the tying run in the top of the sixth, as Hart drove in another run to tie the contest up at 5-5. The go-ahead run came off the bat of Jordan Theurer, who scored Hart and gave the Thunderbirds a 6-5 lead.
SUU's Hanna Wynn secured the victory for the Thunderbirds, as she pitched a scoreless top of the seventh giving the T-Birds the win.
“I thought we competed the whole time,” SUU head coach Tom Gray said about the victory. “It wasn't always pretty, but we competed, we got the timely hits and we ran the bases well.”
Hart, who finished with three RBIs on the day, said the atmosphere around the team really lifted their play on Tuesday.
“I felt like we were playing really loose and just having fun in the dugout, and we always play better when we do that,” she said.
Gray said he hopes the win will build a strong foundation for this weekend.
“This is what we're capable of doing,” he said. “That's a really good team across the way, BYU's a really good team … it just goes to show you we can beat anybody, and that's good momentum for us.”
The Thunderbirds will get back to conference play on Friday, as they will start their final Big Sky series of the season.
SUU will host the University of North Dakota with a Big Sky Tournament bid on the line this Friday for a doubleheader, before wrapping up the series on Saturday with a single game.
First pitch on both Friday and Saturday is slated for noon.
A livestream of the games can be seen on WatchBigSky.com.
Attendance to all home SUU softball games is free of charge.
