CEDAR CITY, Utah – The Southern Utah University softball team fell behind early and attempted to rally; unfortunately, the team came up short in the final game of the series against Montana.

Payton Goodrich started in the circle for the T-Birds; for the second consecutive game, she held a high-powered Montana offense scoreless in their first at bat.

Jayne Sepulveda recorded the first hit of the game by lacing a double down the right field line, putting a runner in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the first. Sepulveda managed to advance to third on a deep fly ball, but the Thunderbirds were unable to bring her home, as the score remained 0-0 entering the second frame.

A couple of SUU errors in the top of the second proved to be costly, as they resulted in two unearned runs being scored, giving Montana their first lead of the game.

The T-Birds managed to get a runner to third base again in the bottom of the second but failed to bring her home, with Montana's lead holding as the teams entered third.

The Grizzlies' bats got going in the top of the third frame, as they plated 16 runs over their next three bats.

Southern Utah picked up three runs of their own in the fourth and fifth innings, highlighted by Sepulveda's second career home run; however, they entered the bottom of the seventh still trailing 19-3.

In need of a furious rally in their final at bat, Capri Franzen reached first base on a HBP to give the T-Birds a baserunner. Makall Whetten was also hit by a pitch in the next at bat, which put runners on first and second.

Dream Weaver stepped up to the plate and smacked a single to left field, loading the bases for SUU. It was Makenna Calderon's turn next, as she drew a walk to bring Franzen home and keep the bases loaded for Amyah Boostedt. Boostedt stepped into the batter's box and clobbered a fastball over the left field wall for her second home run of the series and Southern Utah's second grand slam of the weekend.

With the bases cleared, Riley Shue knocked a single up the middle to keep the SUU momentum going. Two batters later, Sepulveda collected her third hit of the day by lacing a single down the right field line. Reilly Williams earned a walk in the next at bat to load the bases again for SUU; but, an out in the next at bat ended the rally and the series, with Southern Utah falling by a final score of 19-8.

Up Next

The Thunderbirds will return to the diamond next Friday, where they journey to Ogden to face Weber State in a three-game series. The first game against the Wildcats is scheduled for Friday, April 8, with first pitch set for 1 PM MT.

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