FRESNO, California — The Thunderbirds fell in their final game at the Fresno State Invitational on Sunday morning. The T-Birds took on a tough Cal team and battled for seven innings but could not produce the runs needed in a 6-0 defeat.
Coach Don Don Williams Said
"It's been a long pre-season of travel and top 25 opponents. We are looking forward to WAC conference play this week."
Game Summary vs. Cal
Southern Utah showed some fight in the Sunday morning battle against Cal, ultimately falling 6-0.
The Thunderbirds started strong, putting pressure on Cal's defense right away in the first inning. Ariyana Miranda sparked the offense with a single, and Kassidy Munoz and Arianna Ramirez reached on errors to load the bases. Despite the promising start, Cal's defense held firm, preventing SUU from capitalizing.
Cal struck first with a solo home run in the bottom of the first and added two more runs in the second off a key two-RBI single.
The Thunderbirds' defense held strong through the middle innings, highlighted by an out on the basepaths catching a runner stealing in the third that helped shut down a Cal scoring opportunity. Emily Delgado came in for relief and settled in, keeping Cal in check for much of the game.
SUU continued to battle at the plate, with Belle Freund working a walk and Michaella Salvatierra adding a single in the fifth to keep the pressure on. Munoz also drew a walk in the sixth, showing patience at the plate. However, Cal was able to extend their lead in the later innings, taking advantage of a pair of extra-base hits and an error to push across insurance runs.
On Deck
The T-Birds will return to Cedar City to open Western Athletic Conference play next weekend at Katheryn Berg Field. Southern Utah will square off in a three-game series with Tarleton State, beginning with a doubleheader on Friday, March 7, at 1:00 p.m. MT. The Thunderbirds will wrap up the opening series with a single game at noon on Saturday, March 8. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ and stats will be available on suutbirds.com.
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