The Southern Utah University softball team traveled to San Diego last weekend to compete in the Torero Classic. While they beat Eastern Illinois University and Colorado State University, they lost to Long Island University and the University of San Diego, making their weekend 2-3 overall.
Game 1: Colorado State
The Thunderbirds got revenge on the Colorado State Rams on Friday with a 5-3 win after last weekend’s 8-1 loss.
Sophia Masut and Arianna Ramirez led the offensive charge for SUU, each with two hits. Ramirez had one run batted in, and Masut scored two runs.
The Thunderbirds and the Rams both struggled defensively in the first inning. SUU committed two errors, while Colorado State committed one, each allowing one unearned run to score. Both teams picked it up in the following innings.
From the fourth inning to the sixth inning, the score was tied 3-3 until Giselle Bentley walked three batters in a row, loading the bases for Southern Utah. When Reagen Wick stepped in to pitch, a throwing error scored another run for the Thunderbirds, and the single by Ramirez put them up by two runs heading into the seventh.
The Rams had a few hits in the seventh, hoping to come back from the two-run deficit, but the Thunderbirds shut it down and got the win.
Game 2: Long Island University
SUU lost to Long Island University 7-2 on Friday afternoon.
The bats were hot for the Sharks with Dallas Andrews hitting a lead-off double, putting pressure on SUU pitcher Emily Delgado. Delgado followed the double by walking two batters and hitting two with pitches, allowing the first three runs to score.
The Sharks secured their insurance runs in the fifth inning when they expanded their 5-1 lead to a 7-1 lead.
On the Thunderbird side, Ramirez answered back and hit a lead-off home run in the second inning. However, this was the only run that SUU scored until the sixth inning when Franzen hit an RBI double, scoring Masut.
Delgado started the game and threw four innings for the Thunderbirds, allowing four hits and five runs. Keimon Winston stepped up to the mound in the fifth inning and closed the game, allowing three hits and two runs to score.
The Sharks’ pitcher, Lindsey Cowans, shut it down, throwing all seven innings while allowing seven hits and two runs to score.
Each team had seven hits during the game, but the Sharks were able to take advantage of the unearned bases and get more runners across the plate.
Game 3: Long Island University
On Saturday morning, SUU again fell to the Sharks by a score of 5-2.
The Thunderbirds opened up with Winston throwing to the plate, though the Sharks had already seen her in the game on Friday.
Winston threw 6.2 innings until Delaney Baker came in to close. Winston saw 25 batters and allowed five runs to cross the plate. Baker came in for only one batter in the seventh, finishing the Sharks’ offensive game in hopes that SUU could answer back in their last opportunity at the plate.
Alyssa O’Donnell pitched the whole game for LIU, holding the Thunderbirds to six hits and two runs.
The teams remained scoreless until the Thunderbirds jumped on the LIU defense after a throwing error allowed a double by Karmyna Becerra to take her to third base and score teammate Laurie Cooke. This gave SUU an early 2-0 lead.
The Sharks had only three earned runs during the game, and Mari Narvaiz scored two of them. Narvaiz contributed two out of the three hits for the Sharks. With bases loaded in the fourth inning, she hit a two-run single that managed to tie the score 2-2.
The Sharks clinched the win in the seventh, however, when they scored two more runs with two hits and an error.
Game 4: University of San Diego
SUU was unable to make the hits fall against the USD Toreros on Saturday afternoon, resulting in a 4-0 loss.
The Toreros’ pitcher, McKenna Braegelmann, shut down the Thunderbird offense, only allowing one hit during the entire game and striking out seven batters.
Defensively for the Thunderbirds, Delgado started the game and threw five innings until Baker, who only saw three batters, came in to close. During Delgado’s battle on the mound, she was able to hold the Toreros to only four hits.
The Toreros strung a couple hits together in the fifth inning and scored two runs on an error committed by SUU. This was the only inning in the game that had any runs scored. The third and fourth runs of that inning were secured by Joecellia Roberts when she hit a triple, scoring two of her teammates.
The offensive game for both teams lacked with only five hits happening in the whole game, four coming from USD.
Game 5: Eastern Illinois University
The Thunderbirds ended their weekend on a high note with a big win against the EIU Panthers with a final score of 5-0.
SUU pitchers Baker and Winston absolutely shut down the Eastern Illinois offense. Baker only allowed two hits during her two innings, and Winston came in to throw four no-hit innings.
The Panthers threw three of their four pitchers, Olivia Price, McKenzie Oslanzi and Rachael Kaufman, at the Thunderbirds, but none could shut them down.
The Thunderbird bats were hot right out of the gate. Becerra hit a double to start the game, and SUU went on to score two runs in the first inning by putting hits together and capitalizing on an error by the Panthers.
In the second inning, Ariyana Miranda hit a two-run blast, allowing her to jog around the bases and score Becerra, who singled to right field just before her.
SUU clinched the win in the top of the seventh inning when Capri Franzen hit the Thunderbirds’ second home run of the game.
Author: Maggie Whipple
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
sports@suunews.net
