CEDAR CITY, Utah. The Southern Utah softball squad will be busy this week with four games.  SUU first competes in a single tilt against BYU in Provo, Utah April 15 before heading to Missoula, Mont. for a three-game series April 17-18 against Big Sky foe Montana. 

Big Sky Team Standings

Southern Utah is currently second in the league behind only Weber State.  SUU trails the Wildcats by just a game.

Rank, Team, Conference Record
1., Weber State, 6-0
2., Southern Utah, 5-1
3., Sacramento State, 6-3
4., Northern Colorado, 5-4
5., Montana, 3-6
6., Portland State, 2-7
7., Idaho State, 0-6

SUU School Record Trackers

Josey White is well on her way to breaking Southern Utah's single-season home run record of 15.  White already has 11 rockets to her credit this year, just four behind record-holder Lindi Kennedy from 2007.

Rank, Name (Season), Home Runs
1, Lindi Kennedy (2007), 15
T2., Kadi Henderson (2014), 13
T2., Bobbi Jo Merrill (2007), 13
T2., Marci Pratt (2006), 13
T7., Josey White (2021), 11
T7., Kylee Wolf (2014), 11
T7., Madison Resley (2014), 11
T7., Darleen Fernandez (2011), 11
T7., Marci Pratt (2007), 11
T7., Tiffany Burt (2005), 11

White also currently stands atop the record charts for single-season batting average with a .430 batting average.  The current record of .405 has stood since Denise Johnson tied Luann Weston's 1988 mark in 1993. 

Rank, Name (Season), Batting Average
1., Josey White (2021), .430
2., Denise Johnson (1993), .405
2,. Luann Weston (1988), .405
4., Mikkel Griffin (2012), .404
4., Debbie Bone (1978), .404
4., Natalie Smith (1978), .404

White also is well ahead on the school record charts for slugging percentage with a .870 rate. Sarah Murphy set that record in 2018 with a .765.

Rank, Name (Season), Slugging Percentage
1., Josey White (2021), .870
2., Sarah Murphy (2018), .765
3., Marci Pratt (2006), .748
4., Mikkel Griffin (2012), .714
5., Lindi Kennedy (2007), .707

Big Sky Stat Leaders

Josey White continues to be an early leader for Big Sky Player of the Year as she's the stat leader in a plethora of categories.  She's tops in the Big Sky in batting average (.430), slugging percentage (.870), on-base percentage (.454), hits (43), RBI (38), doubles (11), home runes (11) and total bases (87).

Dayna Hokanson leads the conference in runs scored with 33, while Makall Whetten has been hit the most by pitches with 11. 

Grace Owen also appears at the top of the conference in several pitching categories.  She has the most appearances in the circle (28), games finished (22) and games in relief (28).

Weekend Preview

BYU is off to a strong start this season, carrying a 20-13 record that includes a 6-2 mark at home. 

Rylee Jensen is BYU's top offensive threat with a .396 batting average, nine doubles, 11 home runs and a .775 slugging percentage.  

Autumn Moffat-Korth leads the way for BYU in the pitching circle.  She has a 2.65 ERA with an 11-8 record.  She's punched out 100 batters thus far this season.

As for Montana, the Grizzlies are 9-24 on the year with a 3-6 tally in Big Sky play.  They are just 1-8 at home. 

Maygen McGrath paces Montana in the batter's box with a .358 batting average, seven doubles, nine home runs, 30 RBI and a .679 slugging percentage.

Tristin Achenbach is Montana's most active pitcher with a 4.84 ERA, 6-12 record along with 111 strikeouts for the Grizzlies. 

Game Day Information

It's going to be a busy week for the Thunderbirds.  Southern Utah heads north for a single contest against intra-state rival BYU in Provo, Utah on April 15.  The game will take place at 5 p..m MST. 

The T-Birds then continue their trek north to Missoula, Mont., where they will return to Big Sky Conference action with a three-game set versus Montana April 17-18.  The squads are set for a doubleheader on April 17 at 2 p.m. MST, before closing out the series on April 18 with a single game at Noon MST. 

As always, live stats will be found at tbirdstats.com. 

Last Time Out

Southern Utah went 2-1 against Portland State in a three-game Big Sky homestand. 

The first day featured a dramatic doubleheader sweep for the T-Birds.  SUU won game one 9-7 after staving off a PSU comeback bid.  Southern Utah then came back from 8-0 down as Reilly Williams provided a walk-off double to win the nightcap, 11-10.  

The Thunderbirds filled the first day with offensive fireworks as a trio of T-Birds rocketed home runs including Brooke Brown's second grand slam of the season.

Tyler Denhart moved to .500 thus far this campaign in the circle with her seventh victory (7-7) in game one.  Grace Owen collected her third win of the season in game two to improve to 3-2. 

The T-Birds came up a bit short in the final game of the series in a 10-4 loss.  Kalena Shepherd had the top offensive highlight of the day with a blast to center field. 

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