CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Softball team is headed to Reno this weekend to square off with Nevada for a three-game set. Despite having one game canceled last weekend due to weather the Thunderbirds played five going 2-3 at the Capitol City Classic. The Wolf Pack is off to a hot start this season with a record of 17-2. The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday and follow that up with a single game on Sunday.
GAME INFORMATION
Southern Utah at Nevada
Saturday, March 11, 2023 - Sunday, March 12, 2023
SUU vs. UNR: 12:30 p.m. MT Saturday
SUU vs. UNR: 3:00 p.m. MT Saturday
SUU vs. UNR: 12:30 a.m. MT Sunday
Stream: mountain-west-network.aspx
Stats: suutbirds.com
HISTORY
The Thunderbirds have played against the University of Nevada at Reno 13 times in the history of the program. The Pack is far out in front in the series with a record of 11-2. The meeting will be the first time the T-Birds have played against Nevada in Reno. The last time the two teams met was in 2018 when Nevada picked up a big 16-3 win. The Thunderbirds last beat the Wolf Pack in 2014 when Southern Utah scored a three-run home run late in the game to take an 8-6 victory.
SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds will look to continue progressing this weekend. Sitting at 3-10 on the young season. The Thunderbirds are finishing off the preseason this weekend having increased in many statistical categories over the production from a season ago.
Southern Utah has been led on offense by Freshman infielder Emily Gonzalez. Gonzalez has a .361 average with two doubles, three home runs, and 10 RBIs. She has begun to demand attention from teams preparing to play against the T-Birds with her presence in the lineup. Sophomore second baseman Jayne Sepulveda is also swinging the bat well with a batting average of .333 and a team-leading 14 hits.
Sophomore pitcher Keimon Winston leads the team with an ERA of just over 5 and a 2-3 record. Winston has started seven games for the Thunderbirds but has also pitched in relief grabbing the only save of the season so far. Freshman Riley Nielsen has also spent significant time in the circle for Southern Utah having pitched 24.1 innings on the year. Nielsen who pitched six innings against Saint Mary's last weekend collected her first win as a T-Bird in the impressive effort.
NEVADA WOLF PACK
The Wolf Pack have gathered 17 wins so far this season, out-scoring opponents 112-30 in the process. The two losses for Nevada have come at the hands of Cal Poly and Stanford. The loss against Stanford was the only time the Pack has failed to score in a game this season.
Nevada's potent offense has been led by junior Charli Hawkins and freshman Haylee Engelbrecht, who each have batting averages of over .340. The Duo has combined for 32 RBIs and seven home runs. The lineup contains a lot of power with six players who have multiple home runs on the season.
In the circle, the Wolf Pack have relied heavily on senior Carley Brown and junior Blake Craft. Each has pitched over 40 innings this season and combined have an ERA of 1.68. The ERA leader for Nevada is junior Tyra Clary, who has posted an impressive 0.26 over 27.1 innings of work.
LAST TIME OUT- SUU vs UC DAVIS
Game two on Sunday started out as a true defensive battle with neither team being able to put runs on the board for the first three innings. In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Aggies picked up a couple of runs with a single up the middle that scored two.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Aggies strung together three hits to score a pair of runs. Keimon Winston entered the game and picked up a strikeout immediately. The next batter hit a ground ball to second, but Sepulveda's diving stop kept the Aggies from getting another run.
The Thunderbirds headed to the seventh inning trailing by five as UC Davis added another run with two outs in the sixth. Coach Don Don Williams gave Sophomore Capri Franzen a chance to pinch hit in the inning but the T-Birds would end the game without crossing the plate.
The loss went to Riley Nielson who pitched four innings and gave up four runs in the effort.
FOLLOW US
Stay up to date on the Thunderbird Softball team by following @SUUSoftball on Twitter and Instagram and liking the Southern Utah softball page on Facebook.
