CEDAR CITY, Utah. - The Southern Utah softball squad is set to compete in a pair of games in Provo, Utah against Boise State and host BYU on March 27. 

Last Time Out

The Thunderbirds completed a successful weekend at the Grand Canyon Invitational with a winning 3-2 record.  SUU swept GCU in all three of their contests, while falling to New Mexico State in a pair of matchups.

Freshman pitcher Tyler Denhart shined against Grand Canyon with a victory against her sister in their initial time meeting up against each other.  SUU came away with a 4-2 win in that game before Denhart snared a complete game shutout with a 10-0 triumph on the final day.  Sandwiched in between, Payton Goodrich picked up a win in a 9-3 slugfest to also beat GCU.

Brooke Brown had an outstanding weekend at the plate, going 7-for-15 (.467) with 11 RBI, including an impressive 6 RBI outing against GCU that included a grand slam.

Big Sky Pitcher of the Week

The Big Sky Conference announced the winners of Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week Wednesday morning and Southern Utah's Tyler Denhart was named Pitcher of the Week after her performance in the Grand Canyon Invitational last weekend.

Denhart became the second Thunderbird to ever win the award with the other being Ariel Zimmerman in 2013, Southern Utah's first season in the conference.

The freshman went 2-0 over the weekend to the tune of a 0.82 ERA in 17.0 innings pitched. She gave up just two runs in three appearances and struck out seven opponents.

Denhart pitched a complete game shutout in the final game of the weekend as the Thunderbirds beat Grand Canyon 10-0. She allowed just two hits while striking out two batters over seven innings.

That was her second win against GCU on the weekend as on Friday she pitched six innings in a 4-2 win over the Lopes. Denhart's older sister Ryan picked up the loss in that game as the two squared off in the circle for the first time in their collegiate careers.

Big Sky Conference Stat Leaders

Josey White still ranks amongst the best offensive players in the conference.  She's the conference leader in batting average (.465), hits (33), doubles (8), home runs (10), RBI (32), slugging percentage (1.000) and on-base percentage (.481).

Dayna Hokanson leads the conference in runs scored (22), while Makall Whetten has been a magnet for pitches with the most hit-by-pitch in the league (9).

Grace Owen tops the conference in pitching appearances (20) and games finished (14) as well as games in relief (20). 

Weekend Preview

Boise State comes into the weekend with a 5-12 record and looking to end a four-game losing streak after falling three times at UNLF last weekend. 

Bella Rocco leads the Broncos offensively with a .275 batting average and 8 RBI. Ashley Adams has the top batting average (.340) for the squad to go with 5 RBI. 

Hannah Bailey is Boise State's top pitcher in the circle with a 3-0 record and a paltry 1.98 ERA.  She has a total of 33 strikeouts for the Broncos

BYU is coming off a tough 5-4 loss to Stanford on Wednesday night.  BYU comes into the weekend with an 11-12 record following the defeat. 

Ry Jensen-Mcfarland leads the Cougars with a .400 batting average and .853 slugging percentage. She also has the most home runs and RBI on the team with 9 and 19, respectively. 

Autumn Moffat-Korth is BYU's primary pitcher with a 3/07 ERA and a 6-8 record including 8 complete games. She also has 70 strikeouts from the circle. 

Quoating Coach Don Don Williams

"We have just three preseason games left against Boise State, BYU and Dixie State.  We are looking to continue the momentum we built last weekend.  The challenge we have ahead of us is to play more consistently as a team.  We are looking forward to getting back on the field and getting better before we start Big Sky play."

Game Day Information

The T-Birds take on Boise State at 1 p.m. MST before tangling with the hosts at 3:30 p.m. MST.

Live stats for all games can be found at tbirdstats.com, while the game against BYU will be broadcast by BYU TV.

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