After suffering a sweep by California Baptist University, the Southern Utah University softball team will travel to Salt Lake City to play the University of Utah. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26.
Utah
In the midst of their final season in the Pac-12, the Utes are currently at the bottom of the standings with an overall record of 17-14 and a conference record of 1-8. They are coming off a winless three-game series against Stanford University.
Utah’s .306 team batting average puts them seventh in the Pac-12, but Abby Dayton and Haley Denning hold the No. 1 and No. 2 spots with their .474 and .452 averages, respectively. The Utes are not known as a power-hitting team, and they trail the conference in extra-base hits and on-base plus slugging percentage. Dayton and Denning lead the Utes in OPS, both over .970, but neither is the leader for runs batted in. Kaylah Nelsen holds that title with her 22 RBIs, which ties her for 11th in the Pac-12.
The team hasn’t been particularly great on the defensive side, either. They have the second-worst earned run average in the conference at 3.41. Lefty Mariah Lopez has been Utah’s leader up to this point, holding a 3.02 ERA through her 99.2 innings pitched. She also ranks second in the Pac-12 with her 106 strikeouts, making her one of five pitchers in the conference that average at least one strikeout per inning.
Southern Utah
Despite carrying a losing record of 12-14, the Thunderbirds have already won more games than their last two seasons combined. Their 2-4 conference record puts them tied for seventh in the Western Athletic Conference, but they have the third-best winning percentage at .462.
Though they are off to a strong start, they rank ninth or lower in the WAC in batting average, on-base percentage, RBIs and other major offensive stats. SUU holds a team average of just .255 but are held above water largely thanks to Karmyna Becerra and Ariyana Miranda.
As the leadoff hitter, Becerra tops the Thunderbirds with her .352 average. She also proves her consistency by leading the team in hits and runs scored. Miranda, the cleanup hitter, leads both the team and the conference in home runs with eight, already a career high for her. She also follows Becerra with the second-best batting average at .313. The downside is that Miranda also strikes out more than any other Southern Utah hitter, having been punched out 23 times.
The Southern Utah pitching staff stacks up against the other WAC teams much better than the offense does. As a team, they have a 4.88 ERA, and of their three main starters, Keimon Winston leads the way at 3.86. Freshman Emily Delgado takes on most of the work, though. She has posted a 4.76 ERA in 78 innings pitched, getting more mileage than any other WAC pitcher. She also leads SUU in strikeouts with 51, good for second in the conference.
The Thunderbirds will have their work cut out for them on Tuesday. Beside the fact that they will be taking on a Power Five school, they are 2-19 against the Utes since 2008. Their last win came in 2014, and they have been on a 0-8 streak since then.
Author: Anden Garfield
Photographer: Anden Garfield
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