CEDAR CITY, Utah—The Thunderbirds will open the WAC tournament against in-state rival Utah Tech on Wednesday, May 8, at 2:00 p.m. MT. Southern Utah split the doubleheader against the Trailblazers earlier in the season in St. George. The winner of the matchup will continue into the double elimination bracket, playing the host team Seattle, while the losing team will be finished for the season.
The T-Birds are coming into the tournament with a 20-27 record on the season, including a 9-17 mark in conference play. Utah Tech enters Wednesday's game with an 11-13 record against WAC opponents and a 19-30 overall record. The Trailblazers were swept in their series last weekend at Utah Valley.
Weekly Game Information
Southern Utah at the 2024 WAC Softball Tournament
Friday, May 8, 2024
SUU vs UTU: 2:00 p.m. MT Wednesday Watch Live |Live Stats
SUU vs SU: 8:00 p.m. MT Wednesday Watch Live | Live Stats
Coach Don Don Williams Said
"Our goal this year was to compete at the WAC Championships. Now it is time to show up and compete. I'm extremely proud of how this team has handled themselves this season and excited for them to experience championship play."
Southern Utah
Sophomore Emily Gonzalez is fresh off being named to the All-WAC first team, which is a considerable accomplishment. Gonzalez finished the regular season with a team-leading 11 doubles. She added three home runs to her career total on her way to a .371 batting average. Gonzalez has produced an impressive 26 RBIs on the season. Junior Karmyna Becerra's batting average of .338 also stands out in the stat sheet. The T-Bird third baseman has an amazing nine doubles and twelve home runs on the season, tallying the second-most RBIs on the team with 29. Junior Ariyana Miranda has been a power hitter for the Thunderbirds, crushing eleven home runs and has the most RBIs with 31, all while batting a respectable .296 for the year.
The Thunderbirds have found that three starters have been crucial to their success. Emily Delgado, a freshman, holds the best ERA on the team with a score of 4.61, but Delaney Baker, a sophomore, is close behind with an ERA of 4.72. Delgado has the most strikeouts on the team, with 92 over 132 innings of work. Keimon Winston, a junior, has been a reliable pitcher for the T-Birds, with an ERA of 4.74 and 40 strikeouts over 65 innings pitched.
Utah Tech
Utah Tech's offensive strategy relies on a small group of key starters. Among them, Laura Lockard has consistently performed throughout the season, with a batting average of .295 and an OPS of .769. Carly Eldredge is also a strong contributor, closely following Lockard with a .301 batting average and a .782 OPS. LB Kahahawai-Kekona's effectiveness on basepaths is evident from her 30 runs scored and .317 batting average. Marisa Rubio provides valuable support with her batting average of .308. Finally, Rachel Campbell's impressive 11 home runs showcase her power at the plate.
The Trailblazers' pitching staff has faced its share of challenges throughout the season, reflected in their combined ERA of 6.07 and WHIP of 1.66. Attlyn Johnston, with a 4.76 ERA and 1.51 WHIP, leads the rotation with eight wins but has also faced adversity with 14 losses in 27 appearances. Tyler Denhart follows suit, demonstrating resilience with five wins in 27 appearances but struggling with a 6.80 ERA. Sauren Garton adds depth to the staff but faces difficulties with a 7.46 ERA across 18 appearances. Despite the challenges, the pitching staff collectively aims to improve, as reflected in their combined efforts to secure victories and mitigate runs allowed finishing the regular season in fifth place in the WAC.
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