CEDAR CITY, Utah — Southern Utah dropped a pair of games on the road in Texas today, falling 6-4 and 6-5 to UT Arlington. The Thunderbirds fall to 19-25 on the season with a 5-9 record against the WAC.
Freshman Savannah Lira was a leader at the plate for Southern Utah, picking up four hits and three RBIs on the day. Sophomore Michaella Salvatierra also posted a four-hit day with two doubles, scoring two runs for the T-Birds. Junior Arianna Ramirez stayed consistent at the plate with two hits in each game and a pair of RBIs. The Thunderbirds collected more hits than UTA in the games.
Coach Don Don Williams Said
"These two close losses really sting, but I'm proud of the way our defense showed up today. We've got to clean up the base on balls and stop giving teams free runners if we want to win. Tomorrow we will flip the script, outscore them, and play at the level we know we're capable of."
Game 1 Summary
Southern Utah struck first in the second inning, getting on the board with a clutch swing from Savannah Lira. With Arianna Ramirez in scoring position, Lira lined a single into right field to bring her home and give the Thunderbirds a 1–0 edge.
UT Arlington wasted no time answering in the bottom half of the inning. Feeney delivered an RBI single to left, scoring Neises and pushing Schweitzer all the way to third. The Mavericks kept the pressure on, and McNulty followed with a groundout that still did the job as Schweitzer crossed the plate to give UT Arlington a 2–1 lead after two frames.
The back-and-forth continued in the third. Southern Utah evened things up thanks to Isabella Knight, who launched a solo home run to center field, tying the game at 2–2. But again, UT Arlington had a response. With aggressive baserunning, Neises stole home during a sequence that also saw Schweitzer swipe second, putting the Mavericks back in front, 3–2.
The game stayed tight until the sixth inning when Southern Utah made its biggest push. Lira came through again in a huge moment, blasting a two-run homer to left-center that scored Mia Tamkoc and gave the Thunderbirds a 4–3 lead.
That lead didn't last long. UT Arlington answered immediately in the bottom of the sixth, starting with an RBI single from McNulty that tied the game at 4–4. Moments later, Holland delivered the decisive blow, a two-run home run to deep left field that also brought in Smith, swinging the momentum back to the Mavericks at 6–4.
UT Arlington held off any further rally from Southern Utah the rest of the way, closing out a 6–4 win after a tightly contested, back-and-forth battle.
Game 2 Summary
Southern Utah came out swinging in game two, putting immediate pressure on UT Arlington in the first inning. Ramirez got things started with a two-RBI double into left-center, bringing home Ollison and Salvatierra while moving Becerra to third. Just a few batters later, Munoz kept the rally rolling, ripping another double to left-center that scored both Becerra and Ramirez. By the end of the inning, the Thunderbirds had built a 4–0 lead.
UT Arlington didn't stay quiet for long. In the bottom of the first, McClarity got the Mavericks on the board in a big way, launching a two-run home run to left field to cut the deficit in half at 4–2.
The Mavericks kept the momentum going in the second inning. With runners on, Feeney delivered a single into shallow center that drove in two more runs, tying the game at 4–4 and erasing Southern Utah's early advantage.
UT Arlington then took its first lead of the game in the third. Sailor reached on a fielder's choice, but it was enough to bring Neises home, giving the Mavericks a 5–4 edge.
Southern Utah answered in the fourth. Becerra came through with an RBI single to left, scoring Salvatierra from second and evening things up once again at 5–5.
But just like much of the game, the tie didn't last long. In the bottom half of the fourth, Neises delivered a deep double to left field that scored Feeney and pushed Peyton Holland to third, putting UT Arlington back on top 6–5.
That run proved to be the difference. Despite early fireworks and multiple lead changes, Southern Utah couldn't find another answer late, as UT Arlington held on to secure a 6–5 win in another tight battle.
On Deck
The T-Birds will wrap up the series against the Mavericks on Saturday, April 25, at 11:00 a.m. 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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