SUU Tops Utah Tech, Loses to Seattle U in WAC Softball Tourney

SEATTLE, Washington—Southern Utah competed in its first-ever WAC Tournament game and came away with an upset victory. The Thunderbirds took down in-state rival Utah Tech 7-6. In the second game of the tournament, the T-Birds battled but came up short against the host Seattle Redhawks.

Junior Ariyana Miranda racked up an impressive five hits and three RBIs between the two games today for the Thunderbirds offense. Sophomore Emily Gonzalez continued to be consistent at the plate for the T-Birds, driving in two runs on three hits for the day, including a home run on the first pitch of game one. Sophomore Alayah Toscano and Freshman Arianna Ramirez each collected a hit in both of today's contests, while freshman Kassidy Munozpicked up two hits in game one.

Freshman Emily Delgado started both games in the circle for the Thunderbirds. She pitched 11.1 innings, earning the victory in game one and striking out nine batters. Junior Keimon Winston pitched 1.2 innings in relief during game two, giving up two runs on four hits while striking out two and being charged with the loss.

Coach Don Don Williams Said

"This team has grit and guts. I could not be more proud of how they are performing."

"We have said all year that we are either winning or learning. We got some feedback tonight. We will bounce tomorrow."

Game 1 Summary vs. Utah Tech

Southern Utah pulled off a dramatic back-and-forth win against Utah Tech in an exciting opening round of the WAC Tournament. In the top of the first inning, Emily Gonzalez blasted a home run to give Southern Utah an early lead. Utah Tech responded strongly in the third inning, with Lockard hitting a single to bring home Eldredge and tie the game.

Southern Utah hit back hard in the top of the fourth inning, scoring three runs to take a 4-1 lead. Utah Tech responded in the sixth inning, with a flurry of runs, including a key single from Rubio, M. that brought home Lockard, L. to take a 6-4 lead.

However, Southern Utah refused to give up and responded strongly in the seventh inning. Freshman Arianna Ramirez hit a single to bring home junior Karmyna Becerra, and then senior Shelby Basso walked to bring in another run and give the Thunderbirds a 7-6 lead.

Utah Tech had one last chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Emily Delgado and the defense held strong, securing the thrilling victory.

Game 2 Summary vs. Seattle

Game two of the WAC tournament between Southern Utah and Seattle was a battle from the start, with the Redhawks coming out on top 4-3. Neither team could grab a hold of the lead until the third inning when the Thunderbirds pounced an overturned call at second base, giving them another chance with two outs and two runners in scoring position. Arianna Ramirez singled up the middle to score Karmyna Becerra before Kassidy Munoz reached on an error to drive in Ariyana Miranda, putting SUU on top 2-0.

The Redhawks answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Seattle capitalized on a double by Garcia and a hard single through the left side of the infield by Walling to capture their first lead of the game.

Southern Utah came to the plate in the top half of the seventh, and after Alayah Toscano cracked a hit to start the inning, it looked to have something going. Another hit by Emily Gonzalez would put the Thunderbirds in position to challenge for the lead with runners on first and second and one out. Becerra skyed a fly ball to right field for the second out of the inning.

Ariyana Miranda came to the plate and drove a ball to centerfield, which scored Toscano, but freshman Belle Freund who came in to pinch run for Gonzalez, was caught between second and third, finishing the game with a putout that sealed the 4-3 win for the Redhawks.

Next Up

The Thunderbirds drop to the one-loss bracket and will await the loser of the Thursday morning game between #2 seed California Baptist and #3 seed Utah Valley. Southern Utah's game will begin at 5:00 p.m. MT and can be live-streamed on ESPN+, while stats are available through suutbirds.com.