After hosting California Baptist University last week and winning two out of three games, the Southern Utah University softball team is preparing to play against Grand Canyon University this week.
The Thunderbirds will play in a doubleheader on Friday, Apr. 4, at 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and a third game on Saturday, April 5, at noon.
All three games will be played in Arizona at the GCU Softball Stadium. The games will also be available to stream on ESPN+.
Southern Utah
Ahead of this matchup, SUU is currently sitting at 9-19 in overall play and 4-5 in Western Athletic Conference. The Thunderbirds are also currently 4-2 at home and fifth in WAC play.
This season, the SUU softball team has struggled to maintain leads during their games. While the Thunderbirds are often the first to score during their matchups and gain an early lead, they tend to lose that momentum and fall short in the later innings. However, SUU’s pitching has improved this season, with Emily Delgado having a 2.94 earned run average.
Southern Utah has picked things up over the last few series games. The Thunderbirds are averaging 6.6 hits per game and 3.03 runs per game. Against CBU last week, SUU upped their hitting, which led to 34 hits and 21 runs over the three games. Ariyana Miranda is leading the team, batting .341.
Grand Canyon
As Grand Canyon prepares to host SUU this week, they are currently 27-6 in overall play and 6-2 in conference play. Ranked second in the WAC, this team has had an impressive season so far.
Also playing against California Baptist in their last series game, GCU won all three games, putting the Lopes at a four-game winning streak. One thing that has contributed this season is their powerful pitching. Senior pitcher Meghan Golden leads the team with a 0.84 ERA in 18 appearances.
GCU’s offense has impressed, knocking in 209 runs. Savannah Kirk has a batting average of .518 and will be a key player in this matchup. However, the Lopes have struggled under pressure in the past to deliver runs, and the Thunderbirds will need to take advantage of that this week.
Author: Lexie Nelson
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Jack Paul