SAN DIEGO – The Southern Utah University softball team came up empty handed on the opening day of the Campbell/Cartier Classic hosted by San Diego State as it dropped decisions to Cal State Northridge and Cal Baptist.
CSUN defeated the T-Birds, 4-0, in the first of two games Friday. The Thunderbirds then suffered a 3-0 defeat to future WAC foe Cal Baptist on the back end of the double header.
In the opening game of the day, Southern Utah got a solid performance from Dream Weaver who produced a pair of hits. Weaver singled to right center in the top of the third and followed it up with a single to center field in the fifth inning. Gianna Carosone produced the other hit for SUU in the game with a leadoff double in the opening at bat of the day.
Keimon Winston earned the start for the Thunderbirds against CSUN and went four innings with one strikeout. Grace Owen saw two innings of action in relief and recorded a strikeout of her own.
In the second game of the day against the Lancers, Southern Utah struggled offensively through the first-four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, Makenna Calderon opened the inning with a single, and later advanced to second base when Makall Whetten earned a walk. The T-Birds were unable to produce any runs, though, as a ground out on the next at bat ended the inning.
Josey White gave SUU life in the sixth inning with a two-out double to right center field, but the Thunderbirds again came away empty handed with a ground out to end the inning. Capri Franzen would not let the T-Birds go away quietly in the final inning as she singled up the middle with one out. In the next at bat, Weaver moved Whetten into scoring position with a single of her own, but strike outs on the next two plate appearances ended the SUU rally and the ball game.
Winston again went four innings for SUU in a starting effort and was relieved by Owen who recorded four strikeouts in three innings while surrendering no hits or runs.
The Campbell/Cartier Classic resumes play Saturday afternoon when the Thunderbirds face a rematch with CSUN at 3 p.m. MT. SUU will then challenge host San Diego State at 8 p.m. MT. The game against the Aztecs will be streamed live on the SDSU Aztec Softball YouTube channel.
Stay up to date on the Thunderbird Softball season by following @SUUSoftball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah Softball page on Facebook.
