SUU Takes Both Games of Doubleheader
MACOMB, Ill. – 4/7/12, Southern Utah came away with two more wins at Western Illinois on Saturday to start the season 3-0 in the Summit League. The Thunderbirds rode a strong outing from junior pitcher Kelsey Outram to capture a 4-1 decision in the day’s first game followed by a 4-for-4 outing at the plate for David Headley during a 5-4 win in the backend of the doubleheader to make it three-in-a-row over the Leathernecks.
The day’s opening matchup saw the Thunderbirds strike first after tallying runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take a 2-0 lead. Bo Cuthbertson started the scoring after he got on base with an infield single and then reached third as Justin Neuhart hit a ground-rule double to left center. The SUU shortstop then reached home on a wild pitch to put his team up 1-0. Another ground-rule double in the following inning, this time off the bat of Tariq Staton, would then extend the lead to 2-0 for Southern Utah.
In the bottom of the seventh the Leathernecks used a triple from Manny Reyes and an RBI sac fly from Matt Igara to cut the SUU advantage in half with the score at 2-1. The Thunderbirds answered with two runs in the eighth, taking advantage of a pair of Western Illinois fielding errors and an RBI single hit by Ronnie Burton Jr., to go ahead by three. Southern Utah was then able to hold onto the lead for the remainder of the game to eventually take the 4-1 victory.
After proving to be the hero with a three-run ninth inning homerun in the series opener, Southern Utah’s David Headley continued to swing the bat well in Saturday’s doubleheader. The Thunderbird outfielder hit a solo shot in the first inning of the second game for his second career round-tripper and then added another ground-rule RBI double two innings later. He would account for another run in the inning after coming around to score as Cuthbertson drove an RBI single through the right side to put SUU out in front 3-1.
The Leathernecks’ first run of the game came on an error in the bottom of the first and they then added another run as second baseman Brent Turner grounded into an RBI in the third inning to score Reyes. The pair of runs for WIU helped to narrow Southern Utah’s advantage to 3-2.
Headley and Cuthbertson were back at again in the top of the seventh as they came through with back-to-back RBI singles to help SUU stretch its lead to 5-2. WIU was able to plate a couple of runs in the bottom half of the inning but the Thunderbirds held on for the 5-4 win.
It was an impressive day for Southern Utah pitchers as both starters picked up wins after throwing two complete games. Outram allowed just one run while spreading five hits and four strikeouts over nine innings to improve to 2-5 on the year. Joe Karlik then held the Leathernecks to four runs on six hits with three strikeouts to move his record up to 1-2. Dustin Hunter (2-2) and Nick Smith (3-3) took the losses for WIU.
SUU got big numbers from Headley who finished the day 4-of-9 with a homerun for three RBI and three runs scored. Cuthbertson was 4-for-7 at the plate with two RBI and a run.
The two teams will wrap up their four-game series with a single game set for tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. (MT)
