CEDAR CITY, Utah - After kicking off the season with arguably the most difficult opening weekend schedule in the entire country, the Southern Utah University softball team is back in action this weekend. The T-birds will be traveling to San Diego, California to participate in the 31st annual Campbell/Cartier Classic, hosted by San Diego State University.

The Thunderbirds (0-5, 0-0 Big Sky) were the only team in the nation to start their season with three consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 in the country.

After the grueling opening stretch of the season, which also included games against New Mexico and Oregon State at the end of the weekend, the T-Birds will be looking to pick up their first win of the young season and make some serious noise in San Diego.

They will start things off on Friday morning against CSUN, with the first pitch slated for 11:00 a.m. MT.

Throughout the weekend, Southern Utah will face CSUN (2x), California Baptist, San Diego State, and Army.

Campbell/Cartier Classic Information

Teams: Southern Utah, CSUN, California Baptist, San Diego State, Army

Dates: Feb. 17-20

Location: San Diego, California

Venue: SDSU Softball Stadium

Live Stream: TBD

Live Stats: Link

Weekend Schedule

Friday, Feb. 18 

• Southern Utah vs. CSUN, 11:00 a.m. MT

• Southern Utah vs. California Baptist, 1:30 p.m. MT

Saturday, Feb. 19

• Southern Utah vs. CSUN, 3:00 p.m. MT

• Southern Utah vs. San Diego State, 8:00 p.m. MT

Sunday, Feb. 20

• Southern Utah vs. Army, 11:00 a.m. MT

SUU Notes

• Reilly Williams went 3-8 at the plate on opening weekend, hitting a home run in her first at-bat of the season.

• Freshman Jayne Sepulveda had the first two hits of her young career at the Candrea Classic while adding one walk to put her on-base percentage at .273 for the season.

• Madison Sanders is currently second on the team, with an on-base percentage of .333.

• Freshman pitcher Keimon Winston pitched 12 innings over the weekend, including one complete game, while amassing 8 strikeouts throughout the Candrea Classic.

• Josey White, Southern Utah's top returning offensive threat from last season is expected to return for the Thunderbirds this weekend after missing the first five games of the season due to injury. 

Tournament Preview

CSUN:

• The Thunderbirds will square off with the Matadors twice this weekend, opening tournament play with a game against them Friday morning. They are scheduled for a rematch the following afternoon at 3 p.m.

• CSUN started the season with a five game stretch on opening weekend. They went 2-3 over the course of the weekend, dropping games to UCLA and Oregon (2x) while picking up two wins against Nevada.

• Sami Garcia is batting .500 for CSUN this season, with one triple.

• The most recent matchup between the two teams came in 2020, where they faced off twice at the UNLV Rebel Kickoff, as CSUN emerged victorious in both matchups.

California Baptist:

• Southern Utah will face California Baptist Friday at 1:30 p.m. MT.

• The Lancers opened the season at the Kajikawa Classic, going 1-4 in tournament play. They lost games against Arizona State, Duke, Oklahoma State, and Utah; beating Missouri State for their lone win.

• CBU is led by Katelyn Magrello, who is batting .500 on the season with two doubles.

• The T-Birds last squared off against CBU in the 2020 Highlander Classic, with the Lancers picking up the victory.

San Diego State:

• The Aztecs hosted the SDSU Kickoff Classic this past weekend, going 4-1 in the tournament. San Diego State picked up wins against MTSU, UIC (2x), and Cal Poly, while dropping a game to Stanford.

• SDSU currently has three players in their starting lineup batting over .400 at the plate: Isabella Espinoza (.467), Jeweliana Perez (.417), and Mac Barbara (.412).

• The pitching staff for SDSU has combined to put together a 1.03 ERA on the mound through their first five games.

• SUU last faced off against San Diego State in 2020 at the Campbell/Cartier Classic, with the Aztecs picking up two wins against Southern Utah at the tournament.

Army:

• The Campbell/Cartier Classic will be the first action of the season for Army softball.

• Jolie Duong and Angelina Bebek were both 2022 Patriot League Preseason selections. 

• Duong (preseason second-team) finished last season with a 2.69 ERA and a 9-3 record on the mound.

• Bebek (preseason first-team) started all 33 games for the Black Knights last season, batting .353 at the plate with 8 doubles, 4 home runs, and 23 runs scored. She led the Black Knights in each of those categories.

• Southern Utah and Army have never met on the softball diamond prior to this matchup.

The Campbell/Cartier Classic should provide another weekend of strong competition for Southern Utah, as they continue to prepare for Big Sky play later this season.

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