The Southern Utah University softball team is back at home to host the Lancers of California Baptist University. The Thunderbirds are 5-19 overall on the season and are 2-7 in Western Athletic Conference play.
Last time out, the Thunderbirds went 1-2 versus Stephen F. Austin State University, winning the second game of the series 10-8.
The Thunderbirds
Freshman Emily Gonzalez leads the team with a .418 batting average after a stellar series versus SFA. She leads the team in home runs with four on the season. Gonzalez is also the leader in RBIs with 16 and hits with 28. Sophomore Jayne Sepulveda leads the team with 12 runs and is second in hits with 24 and RBIs with eight. Senior first baseman Madison Sanders has great awareness at the plate and leads the team in walks with 12.
Redshirt senior Payton Goodrich leads the pitching rotation with a 5.76 ERA and a 1-4 record on the season. Freshman Riley Nielson leads the team in innings pitched with 48.0 and is second in strikeouts with 19.
California Baptist Lancers
The Lancers are 21-16 overall on the season and 5-4 in WAC play. Last time out, CBU lost a single-game series 4-3 to Loyola Marymount University.
Sophomore Priscilla Estrada is the Lancers’ best contact hitter, leading the team with a .353 batting average, and is first in hits with 41. Fellow sophomore Karmyna Becerra leads the CBU roster with 19 RBIs. Junior Maya Martinez has shined in the power hitter role, leading the team with three home runs.
Junior pitcher Alyssa Argomaniz leads the rotation with a 2.55 ERA. She has pitched the most innings on the squad with 66.0 and is second in strikeouts with 29. Freshman Presley Hosick is the leader in strikeouts, tallying 33 on the season.
First pitch
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between these two squads and the first as conference foes. California Baptist leads the all-time series 4-0. The last meeting between these two squads resulted in a 3-0 loss for the Thunderbirds. Tuesday, April 11, will be a double-header with the first game at 1 p.m. MDT and the second game at 3 p.m. MDT. The last game of the series will be on Wednesday, April 12, with first pitch at noon MDT. The series will be held at Kathryn Berg Field and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Story by Anthony Colasuono
Photos courtesy of SUU Athletics
