Southern Utah University softball is set to take on in-state rival Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah for a double-header on Saturday, March 19.
The Thunderbirds
The T-Birds have had a rough start to the season, starting 0-9 before their first win of the season. Now 3-18, those wins have come against Army, the University of Maine and the University of Wisconsin. The matchup with BYU comes after Southern Utah University fell 1-10 at Dixie State University on March 16.
The SUU bats have been hot when it matters most. Freshman standout Reily Shue leads the Thunderbirds with a .286 batting average and senior outfielder Makall Whetten leads in on-base plus slugging average with a whopping .834 and leads with a .448 on-base percentage.
The Thunderbirds’ pitching rotation has struggled throughout the season. Junior Grace Owen currently leads SUU with a 9.16 ERA and a 1-3 record.
Looking at the opponent
BYU has been red hot all season with a 16-6 start with wins over Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley. The next challenge for the Cougars before SUU is the Bengals of Idaho State University on Thursday, March 17.
BYU has dynamic hitters on their roster with five players hitting over .300. Violet Zavodnik leads the Cougars with an astonishing .424 batting average and is second in RBI and home runs only to teammate Macy Simmons. Alyssa Podhurcak leads Brigham Young in on-base percentage at .538.
The Cougars last outings came by a dominating offense. BYU mercy ruled Maine 14-0 and won by a score of 14-5 against Ball State University.
The matchup
BYU leads the all-time series 42-3 against the Thunderbirds. Last time out on May 4, 2021, BYU won by mercy rule 9-0 in Cedar City.
SUU looks for a change in the series as they hope to get a pair of wins on the road in this double-header.
Game details
This is the first time both of these teams have met each other this season. The first game of the double-header will take place at 1 p.m. and the second game at 3 p.m. this Saturday, March 19. Both games will be streamed live on BYUtv.
Article by: Anthony Colasuono
sports@suunews.net
Photo courtesy of SUU Athletics
