CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah opened the series against Abilene Christian with an offensive outburst, picking up an 11-3 run-rule win in game one. The T-Birds battled in game two to earn an extra-inning 7-6 win. The Thunderbirds improved to 4-7 against WAC opponents with an 18-23 record on the season.
Offensively, freshman McKenzy Becerra was a juggernaut, picking up seven RBIs on 5-for-6 hitting with a double and two home runs, including a grand slam. Freshman Savannah Lira collected three hits and five RBIs on the day, including her second grand slam of the season and the Thunderbirds' second in the same game, for possibly the first time in the T-Birds history. Junior Arianna Ramirez also posted a three-hit day with a double and two singles. Senior Alayah Toscano tallied two RBIs on two hits in the doubleheader to help Southern Utah to a pair of key WAC victories.
In game one, senior Delaney Baker dominated from the rubber, earning the complete game win. Baker tossed five innings, allowing three runs on seven hits but keeping the Wildcats off balance with two strikeouts. Freshman Avery Nielson earned the win in game two in relief, pitching two innings without surrendering a hit and striking out two batters in the effort. Sophomore Hannah Duncan and redshirt junior Riley Nielson split the other six innings of game two. Duncan led the team in strikeouts on the day with five.
Coach Don Don Williams Said
"It was a good day to be a T-Bird. It was nice to see history made with two grand slams in one game. The fight and resiliency in this young team are what we need to battle for postseason play. We need to lock in for a big game tomorrow."
Game 1 Summary
The Thunderbirds scored early in the bottom of the first inning. Taralyn Ollison led off with a walk and was driven in on a deep home run by McKenzy Becerra. The two-run blast gave the T-Birds the early 2-0 lead.
Abilene Christian bounced back at the top of the second with a leadoff home run that bounced off the top of the fence to make the score 2-1.
The Thunderbirds capitalized on walks to start the inning. Michaella Salvatierra blasted a hard ground ball through the left side to plate Aubrie Burgos with two outs. Becerra followed that up with her second home run of the game, a grand slam to boost the Thunderbirds' lead to 7-1.
The Wildcats got one run back in the top of the third inning to shrink the lead to 7-2.
Southern Utah blew the game open in the bottom of the fourth. Freshman Savannah Lira stepped up to the plate and smashed a grand slam to deep right center field, giving the T-Birds an 11-2 lead.
Abilene Christian would plate a run in the top of the fifth, but senior pitcher Delaney Baker shut them down to finish the game and give the Thunderbirds the 11-3 run-rule victory.
Game 2 Summary
The Wildcats opened the scoring with a pair of doubles and a triple to grab the early 2-0 lead. Abilene Christian added on with a run in the top of the second inning.
Southern Utah got on the board in the bottom of the second inning when Taralyn Ollison hit an infield single to score Lira from third.
In the bottom of the third, Kassidy Munoz dropped a beautiful bunt that was picked up and thrown away, scoring a run and bringing the game within one. The T-Birds took the lead when Alayah Toscano drove a single up the middle to score two runs and make the score 4-3.
The T-Birds added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Munoz scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3.
Abilene Christian found a spark in the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back-to-back hits to score a pair of runs and knot the game up at 5-5. The Wildcats scored one more on an error to take the seventh inning lead 6-5.
Southern Utah was able to tie the game up in the bottom of the seventh inning when Lira drove a hard line drive through the left side, scoring Mia Tamkoc.
Freshman Avery Nielson sat down the top of the Wildcats' lineup in order to give the bats back to the T-Birds. Following a hit by pitch and a walk, Salvatierra sacrificed to move Knight and Ollison into scoring position. Becerra put a bow on her incredible performance with a hard line drive to left center to walk it off for the Thunderbirds.
On Deck
The Thunderbirds will wrap up the three-game set against the Wildcats on Saturday, April 18, at noon MT. Live stats for the game will be available on the schedule link at suutbirds.com, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
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