The Southern Utah University softball team will return home to face off against the Abilene Christian University Wildcats. SUU got swept in their last series, extending their losing streak to seven games. The three-game series will take place on Friday, April 5, and Saturday, April 6. Play will start with a doubleheader on Friday with games at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s game is scheduled for 12 p.m. All games can be attended at Kathryn Berg Field or streamed on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
The Thunderbirds sit at 12-17 overall and place ninth in the Western Athletic Conference with a record of 2-7. Many struggles for SUU come at the plate, where they place ninth in the conference in batting average and last in hits, runs, runs batted in and on-base percentage.
Despite the offensive issues, the Thunderbirds have some great players providing consistent offense. Karmyna Becerra is a great contact hitter and base runner, leading the team with 32 hits on a .333 average, and has scored a team-high 18 runs. Ariyana Miranda provides fantastic power hitting for SUU. She has the second-most home runs in the WAC with eight and leads the team in RBIs with 19. Southern Utah will want hot bats in this series if they want to take advantage of ACU’s high earned run average.
SUU’s pitching has also had its fair share of complications. Their most efficient arm is Keimon Winston, who returned from injury this past weekend. She holds a 3.33 ERA, the lowest of the starting pitchers on the team. Winston has a 3-5 record with 26 strikeouts and has only given up one home run. While Winston was out with injury, Emily Delgado took the ace spot. She has a 4-5 record and has thrown four complete games, including two shutouts, with a 4.43 ERA in 85.1 innings pitched. She also leads the team and is third in the conference with 59 strikeouts. Delaney Baker has struggled the most out of the starting pitchers, having a 3-7 record and only 15 strikeouts on a 5.89 ERA and 52.1 innings pitched.
Abilene Christian
The Wildcats hold a 12-20 overall record with a 4-7 conference record, placing them seventh in the WAC. They are a good team at the plate, as they place sixth in the conference in batting average, tied for fifth in runs, third in home runs and first in doubles.
Kaydee Bennett leads the effort at the plate, boasting a conference-leading .459 batting average with four home runs and a team-leading 45 hits. She is an incredible base runner as well. She leads the team in runs with 31 and places second in the conference in steals with 13. Bennett has also never been caught stealing on a steal attempt. Olivia Marble is another dangerous bat for the Wildcats. She holds an impressive .417 batting average with three home runs and 17 RBIs on 42 hits. She leads the team in doubles with 12 and is great at stealing bases, where she has succeeded 12/14 times. These hot hitters will be crucial to earning a victory against SUU in order to give their struggling pitching staff some breathing room.
Pitching is rough for ACU. Ella Beeman holds a high 4.85 ERA yet leads the Wildcats in the category. She has a 3-5 record with two complete games and 19 strikeouts in 56.1 innings pitched. Beeman also threw the team’s only shutout. Lina Russo has a 3-7 record on a 5.20 ERA. She leads the team with 45 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched and in complete games with five, but she struggles preventing runs. Talia Nielsen holds a respectable 6-4 record but allows a lot of runs, as shown by her 5.76 ERA. She also leads the team in allowed home runs with eight. In 45 innings pitched, she has struck out 14 batters and thrown four complete games.
Author: Jacob McQueary
Photographer: Anden Garfield
Editor: Anden Garfield
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