LONG BEACH, California — The Thunderbirds earned a split on day one of the Long Beach Wilson Tournament Saturday. Southern Utah battled to a 1-0 shutout win against Oregon State before taking a 2-1 extra-inning loss to Saint Mary's. The T-Birds record now sits at 2-5 this season.
Offensively, the Thunderbirds got big hits from Arianna Ramirez, who went 3-5 on the day with a key RBI against the Beavers. Freshman Michaella Salvatierra and sophomore Taralyn Ollison picked up two hits each on the day. In game two, Ariyana Miranda scored the other RBI of the day on a sacrifice fly.
The T-Birds' pitching staff was excellent on day one of the tournament, with senior Keimon Winston earning the complete-game shutout win. Winston pitched seven innings, surrendering just three hits while striking out six. Emily Delgado went the distance in game two, pitching seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits, and striking out three.
Coach Don Don Williams Said
"We had a quality win against OSU this morning. Our pitching was exceptional today in both games. We had a solid defensive performances in both games. Our offense did not come through with timely hitting when we needed it in the St Mary's game. It was a tough loss in extra innings."
Game One Summary vs. Oregon State
Southern Utah secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Oregon State in a pitcher's duel.
The Thunderbirds took an early lead in the first inning when freshman Michaella Salvatierra singled, stole second, and eventually scored on a fielding error off the bat of Arianna Ramirez.
From there, SUU's defense and incredible pitching by senior Keimon Winston held firm, shutting out the Beavers despite several base runners. Oregon State had multiple opportunities to score, leaving runners on base in five different innings, but Southern Utah's defense came through each time.
The game ended with Oregon State stranding a runner in scoring position in the seventh, sealing the Thunderbirds' win.
Game Two Summary vs. Saint Mary's
In game two, the T-Birds continued to have stellar pitching and defense. Southern Utah took the game the distance and then some, forcing extra innings in Long Beach.
Neither team could break through and score until the bottom of the fourth inning when the Gaels pushed the first run of the game across.
Southern Utah would continue to battle at the plate, finally evening the score in the top of the sixth inning. Ramirez blasted a double to right field, and pinch-runner Tasha Hokanson entered the game. Hokanson advanced to third on a wild pitch before a sacrifice fly by Ariyana Miranda scored her to knot the game up at 1-1.
Saint Mary's finished the game with a walk-off in the bottom of the eighth inning, earning the win on only the third walk of the day for Emily Delgado.
On Deck
The Thunderbirds will continue the tournament on Sunday, February 16, at 10:00 a.m. MT. Southern Utah will take on Iowa State, followed by a short break before taking on the University of Kansas at 2:00 p.m. MT. Live stats are available through the Southern Utah Softball Schedule page link.
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