CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Softball team heads to sunny California this Friday for a three-game series with UC Santa Barbara. The Thunderbirds will battle the Gauchos at 1:00 p.m. MT on Friday in a doubleheader with the second game starting 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
GAME INFORMATION
Southern Utah at UC Santa Barbara
Friday, February 17, 2023 - Saturday, February 18, 2023
Game 1: 1:00 p.m. MT Friday
Game 2: Approximately 3:00 p.m. MT Friday
Game 3: 1:00 p.m. MT Saturday
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: suutbirds.com
COACH DON DON WILLIAMS SAYS…
"They had an opening weekend and so did we so we are excited about going to the beach and getting that great weather down there. I think it will be a great chance to play with an opponent like us. It is a good measuring stick. We get a chance to see where we are at, what our strengths are, and what are our weaknesses. I think it's going to be a really good weekend for us."
HISTORY
The Thunderbirds have played against UC Santa Barbara four times in program history. The Gauchos have come out on the winning end of each game played in the series. The last time the two teams met was in 2017 when UC Santa Barbara got the better of the T-Birds 6-4 in the Red Desert Classic in St. George. Southern Utah will look to close the series gap this weekend on the road.
SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds are coming off an opening weekend filled with improvement and upside. Though the T-Birds started the season 1-4 at last week's Rebel Kickoff the team seemed to get better with each game, winning the final game against UNLV 6-4.
The Thunderbirds will have the chance to see what the average weekend will be like in conference play with a similar three-game series. This will give the coaching staff a chance to see how the team will react to situations on the field and in the lineup. While Southern Utah had a chance to face multiple opponents in the Rebel Kickoff it takes a different approach when preparing to play a single opponent for three straight games.
Through their first five games, the Thunderbirds have been led on offense by freshman infielder Emily Gonzalez. Gonzalez racked up a .538 batting average and drove in three of the T-Birds' 12 runs. Sophomore infielder Jayne Sepulveda, who led the team last season in many categories continued to be a big part of the offense totaling eight hits in the tournament.
Junior infielder Miranda Lopez is batting .364 and crossed the plate three times in the opening weekend. Josey White, the redshirt senior infielder posted three hits and three RBIs in the Rebel Kickoff and senior first baseman Madison Sanders notched the first home run of the season for Southern Utah against UNLV.
In the circle Coach Don Don Williams looked to the combination of sophomore Keimon Winston and redshirt senior Payton Goodrich. Goodrich finished the weekend having pitched 7 innings and posting a 6.00 ERA, nearly two runs lower than her average from last season.
The Improvement doesn't stop there as Winston recorded 10.1 innings and an ERA of just over four. The Thunderbirds gave a solid defensive effort in the tournament to help keep the team within striking distance in every game. Southern Utah who had 13 errors in the season-opening tournament last year only committed 3 errors this weekend.
UC SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS
The Gauchos took to the field last weekend for the opening tournament of the year against the University of North Dakota and the University of Nevada at Reno in the Central Coast Classic. UC Santa Barbara finished the weekend with a split 2-2 record beating the Fighting Hawks twice but falling to the Wolfpack in both contests.
There was no shortage of offense for the Gauchos as they scored 28 runs on the weekend. The team batted an impressive .327 and had 32 hits in the four-game set. The team was led by freshman Bella Fuentes who collected eight hits in just 11 at-bats to notch a .727 Batting average. Junior infielder Madelyn McNalley also had a big weekend batting .455 and picking up a pair of RBIs.
The Gauchos' pitching staff grabbed a 4.45 ERA and 12 strikeouts against their opponents. The effort rested mostly with Camryn Snyder who pitched just over 10 innings. The junior from Washington held down opponents striking out 10 batters and forcing the other team to bat just .273. Malaya Johnson also spent time in the circle, pitching just over six innings and allowing just nine total hits.
LAST TIME OUT- SUU VS UNLV
The Thunderbirds opened up scoring in the second inning when Alayah Toscano drove in Lopez with a single. White extended the lead by knocking in Sepulveda and Toscano with a single that dropped in behind the first baseman.
The Rebels got one run back in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Thunderbirds would respond with a big three-run fifth. The runs came when Gonzalez hit a hard ground ball up the middle of the field to score White. That was followed by a pinch-hit double by junior infielder Capri Franzen which plated Gonzalez and Sanders.
Looking to complete its second comeback of the day, UNLV scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of the sixth and one in the seventh. The comeback fell short however as the Thunderbirds held on to win the game 6-4.
Keimon Winston pitched Southern Utah to victory. The ace went four innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out two. Riley Nielson threw three innings in relief out of the bullpen.
Alanna Thiede took the loss for UNLV. The hurler surrendered three runs on four hits over four innings, striking out three.
SUU had eight hits in the game. Sepulveda and Gonzalez managed multiple hits for the Thunderbirds. Sepulveda led the T-Birds with three hits in four at-bats. Southern Utah didn't commit a single error in the field during the contest.
FOLLOW US
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