PHOENIX, Ariz. The Southern Utah softball team pounced on the home team to close out the Grand Canyon Invitational with a winning record in Phoenix on Sunday. SUU rolled through GCU on the final day, 10-0. 

"We came out strong offensively today and scored a lot of runs," head coach Don Don Williams said. "We had a bit of a lull, but finished it off in the seventh.  The defense is really coming together.  Tyler (Denhart) threw her first complete game as a Thunderbird.  We are starting to see glimpses of the type of culture we are trying to build here. That is great to see."

Brooke Brown completed an MVP-like performance this weekend with 6 more RBI to drive her total for the weekend up to 11 runs batted in.  Brown finished today with an amazing 3-for-4 effort that included a bases-clearing grand slam. Josey White also went 3-for-5, setting up many of Brown's RBI as White crossed home plate three times. 

"This was a turnaround weekend for us as a team," Brown said after the game. "My teammates set me up for success as they communicated information on the types of pitches they were seeing, and it helped me have a more aggressive mentality at the plate.  I really felt comfortable with the team this weekend, and since everyone else was producing offensively, it made it easy for me."

Tyler Denhart claimed her third win of the season, and second of the weekend, with a dominant outing in the circle.  She held GCU to just two hits in 25 at-bats.  Denhart punched out two Antelopes compared to just three walks.  She also induced eight flyouts and 10 groundouts in a gem of a performance. 

Already up 2-0 on the weekend against GCU, the Thunderbirds immediately went to work in the first frame by putting up a five spot on the Antelopes for a 5-0 lead. 

With the bases loaded, Brown blasted a grand slam over the left field wall to bring home White, Dayna Hokanson and Makall Whetten and chalk up four RBI to start the day.  Skyler Ball followed with a single to right field to score Gianna Carosone to stretch the lead to 5-0 heading into the bottom of the first. In sum, SUU scored five runs off four hits to open the contest.

SUU wasted no time extending the lead to 7-0 with two more runs in the second stanza.  Madison Sanders earned an RBI the hard way with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch to bring home White.  Mikelle Magalogo followed with a single through the left side to plate Brown.

The two teams traded goose eggs through the third, fourth, fifth and sixth inning until SUU came up to bat again in the top of the seventh.

The T-Birds tacked on three more runs in the seventh to close the show with a 10-0 victory that included 15 hits in total.  Brown pocketed two more RBI with a single to right field to push Hokanson and Whetten across home plate to take a 9-0 lead.  Reilly Williams notched the final run bringing home White with a fielder's choice to second base. 

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.