CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Southern Utah Softball team will host another home series this Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lancers of California Baptist University are coming to Cedar City for a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT. The T-Birds will then welcome Cal Baptist back to the Berg on Wednesday for a single game that will begin at noon MT.
The series was delayed to this week by a snowstorm that affected the playability of the field in Cedar City. The Thunderbirds are coming off a tough home series against SFA in which the T-Birds picked up a win in game two finishing the series 1-2. The Lancers are coming off a 2-1 road series win over Tarleton State. Cal Baptist also lost a single game with Loyola Marymount University on Tuesday of last week.
GAME INFORMATION
Southern Utah vs CBU
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 - Wednesday, April 12, 2023
SUU vs. CBU: 1:00 p.m. MT Tuesday
SUU vs. CBU: 3:00 p.m. MT Tuesday
SUU vs. CBU: 12:00 p.m. MT Wednesday
Stream: ESPN+
Stats: suutbirds.com
SOUTHERN UTAH
The Thunderbirds will look to improve this week, sitting at 5-19 on the season. The Thunderbirds picked up their first home victory as they took down Stephen F. Austin in game two of that series.
Southern Utah has been led on offense by Freshman infielder Emily Gonzalez. Gonzalez has driven four doubles and four home runs leading to a .418 batting average. Gonzalez leads the team with 16 RBIs this year. Sophomore second baseman Jayne Sepulveda is also swinging the bat well with a batting average of .296. Sepulveda smacked a big-time home run in the win over SFA.
Freshman Riley Nielsen has earned significant time in the circle for Southern Utah with a 5.98 ERA over 48 innings pitched. Redshirt Senior Payton Goodrich collected her first win of the season against the Lumberjacks and dropped her ERA to 5.76 in the process. Sophomore pitcher Keimon Winston leads the team with 21 strikeouts on the season.
CAL BAPTIST LANCERS
The Lancers have an impressive record of 21-16 on the year. Cal Baptist has worked its way to a 5-4 record in conference with a series sweep over UT Arlington.
The Lancer offense has been anchored by Pricilla Estrada and Sydney Soto who are batting .353 and .344 respectively. Soto leads the team in doubles with 7 on the season. The team RBI leader is Karmyna Becerra with 19 on the year. The Lancers have been moderately aggressive on the bases with 28 steals in 47 attempts this year.
Cal Baptist has an outstanding staff in the circle that doesn't allow many runs. Three Lancers have ERAs under 3.00. Alyssa Argomaniz has spent the most time on the rubber with 66 innings pitched and a 2.55 ERA. Presley Hosick is the strikeout leader for the Lancers with 33. Hosick also has an impressive ERA of 2.79. The Lancer pitching staff has allowed opposing teams just a .237 batting average this season.
LAST TIME OUT- SUU vs SFA
The Southern Utah Softball team fell in the series finale 14-4 Saturday afternoon. The Thunderbirds ended the weekend 1-2 against Stephen F. Austin with a win in the second game of the series.
Southern Utah was led at the plate this weekend by freshman third baseman Emily Gonzalez, junior shortstop Miranda Lopez, and freshman Outfielder Alayah Toscano who each picked up four hits in the series. Gonzalez grabbed four RBIs this weekend as well. Sophomore Jayne Sepulveda added three hits of her own in the three-game series for the Thunderbirds.
In the circle, the Thunderbirds used a few different pitchers giving Sophomore Keimon Winston a chance to work through 4.2 innings this weekend. Redshirt senior Payton Goodrich grabbed the game-two win in relief. Freshman Riley Nielson pitched seven innings in the three-game series striking out three batters.
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