CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah University softball team will play their second consecutive home series this weekend, as they welcome Montana to Kathryn Berg Field with a doubleheader set for Friday and a series-ending game scheduled for Saturday at noon.
Series Info
Southern Utah vs Montana
Dates: April 1-2
Location: Cedar City, Utah
Venue: Kathryn Berg Field
Stream: ESPN+
Game Schedule:
Friday, April 1
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Game 1: 1:00 PM MT
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Game 2: 3:00 PM MT
Saturday, April 2
Preview
The Thunderbirds (3-23, 0-3) will look to bounce back after being swept in their conference-opening series against Northern Colorado last weekend. The Grizzlies (13-16, 1-2) have had an up and down season thus far; but, they boast a strong lineup and have collected some impressive victories this year.
Montana opened Big Sky play at home this past weekend, dropping the first two games of the series to Portland State by a combined two runs. The final game of the weekend was another close contest, but the Grizzlies pulled out a 5-4 victory to bring their Big Sky record to 1-2.
At the plate, the Grizzlies are led by freshman Presley Jantzi, who is batting a team-high .362 this season. She also leads the team and the Big Sky Conference in doubles with 9 and possesses the second highest OB% for the Grizzlies (.408).
Senior Maygen McGrath has also assembled a strong season on offense for Montana. McGrath leads the Grizzlies in multiple categories, including slugging percentage (.591), home runs (7), and RBI (15).
As a team, Montana is batting .261 at the plate this year with an OB% of .339.
On the mound, the Grizzlies have only utilized two pitchers this season on a consistent basis. Underclassmen Dana Butterfield and Allie Brock have combined to start 28 of Montana's 29 games, and they have thrown a total of 189.2 out of a possible 194 innings.
Butterfield and Brock have posted nearly identical numbers this season, as Butterfield holds an ERA of 3.55, while Brock is not too far behind at 3.94.
The Grizzlies pitching staff is holding opposing batters to an average of .294 this year and has allowed 17 home runs.
The T-Birds will look to build off of their best performance of the weekend in Game 3 against Northern Colorado. SUU collected 8 hits for the game, their highest all weekend, and did not make an error in the field, as they fell in a close contest, 4-3.
Makall Whetten, as she has done for most of the season, continues to lead SUU in batting average (.268), slugging percentage (.375), and doubles (6). Whetten has also been hit by a pitch seven times this season, which ranks first in the Big Sky.
Right behind Whetten is freshman Jayne Sepulveda, who has continued to improve at the plate throughout the season. After a strong series against Northern Colorado that saw Sepulveda go 3-4 at the plate and score a run in Game 3, her batting average is now up to .244, which is good for second-best on the team.
Reilly Williams picked up two RBI in Game 3 of the series against Northern Colorado to add to her team-leading 8 RBI this season. Williams also leads SUU with 2 home runs this year and boasts a slugging percentage of .281.
Payton Goodrich has been solid for the T-Birds on the mound in her return from injury, holding opposing hitters to a .333 average over 12.1 innings of work. Grace Owen has continued to provide strong pitching in relief, most recently allowing 0 hits in 2 innings of relief of Goodrich in Game 3 against Northern Colorado.
Southern Utah will need to pick up some wins over Montana this weekend to keep pace in the Big Sky standings during their final season as a member of the conference.
History
Southern Utah holds an all-time record of 7-14 against Montana; but, SUU is currently on a two-game win streak against the Grizzlies and has won 4 of the last 5 contests between the two programs.
Follow Us
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