CEDAR CITY, Utah - After having their 2020 season cut short, the Thunderbird softball team will return to the field this weekend as they open the 2021 season at the UNLV Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas, Nevada.
2020 Recap
The Thunderbirds were 5-14 when the 2020 season came to an abrupt end. They were able to take down three Power 5 conference schools during that time besting Oregon State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State.
Senior Brooke Brown hit .419 in 43 at-bats with an OPS of 1.248. She had 11 RBI, hit four home runs, and scored eight runs. Skyler Ball hit .235 with 10 RBI and five walks in 51 at-bats.
As a team, the Thunderbirds hit .249 on the season with 13 home runs, 68 RBI, and a slugging percentage of .384. The pitching staff had a combined ERA of 6.15 over 118.1 innings with 52 strikeouts and an opponent batting average of .339.
Tournament Preview
The 2021 UNLV Rebel Kickoff will consist of four teams playing in a round-robin format: No. 2 Washington, Dixie State, Southern Utah, and the host Rebels.
Washington was ranked No. 2 in the country to begin the year in the NFCA poll, the fourth consecutive year that Washington has been ranked in the nation's top five to start the season. The Huskies return every single inning played from the 2019 season and add five freshmen to the 2021 roster. Senior Sis Bates hit .529 in 2020, going hitless once all season. She is second among active NCAA players in career runs scored with 172 and fourth in hits with 245.
The Rebels were off to the second-best start in program history (21-5) in 2020 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UNLV will look to pick up where it left off last spring with six everyday starters returning in the field and two returning pitchers in Charlie Masterson and ace Jenny Bressler. The pair helped lead the Rebels to a 1.71 ERA, which ranked atop the Mountain West and was 14th in the country a year ago.
After dominating the RMAC and the PacWest for the last decade, the Trailblazers will start their Division I journey as a member of the Western Athletic Conference this weekend. They finished their final Division II season at 19-7 when it was cut short due to the pandemic. Dixie State was picked to finish sixth in the 2021 WAC Preseason Poll and Carissa Burgess and Hannah Hughbanks were named to the WAC Preseason All-Conference Team.
Game Day Information
The UNLV Rebel Kickoff will open on Friday February 12 and run through Sunday February 14. The Thunderbirds will open against No. 2 Washington at 11:00 a.m. Mountain time on Friday followed by a game against the Rebels at 4:00 p.m.
They will take on the No. 2-ranked Huskies again on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. followed by a matchup with Dixie State at 1:30 p.m.
The Thunderbirds will wrap up the tournament on Sunday against the Rebels at 12:00 p.m.
All games will be streamed live on the UNLV Athletics YouTube page and live stats will be available at unlvrebels.com.
Southern Utah and Dixie State will also play a single game in St. George on Tuesday February 16 at 3:00 p.m.
Follow Us
Stay up to date during the 2021 Thunderbird Softball season by following @SUUSoftball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Softball page on Facebook.
