The Southern Utah Thunderbirds women’s softball team won two games on March 13 at the Loyola Marymount Tournament in Los Angeles, defeating Portland State 7–4 and Loyola Marymount University 3–1.
The victories improved the Thunderbirds’ season record to 13–15 and included their first-ever win over LMU. The team will continue tournament play on Saturday.
Freshman McKenzy Becerra contributed significantly in the first game with a home run and a double. Sophomore Michelle De la Cruz collected three hits across both games, including an RBI double. Arianna Ramirez added two RBIs on two hits in the second game. Freshman Avery Nielson earned the win in relief during game one, pitching six innings and allowing only one run while striking out four batters. Nielson also recorded her second save of the year in game two. Sophomore Hannah Duncan pitched six innings in the nightcap, giving up just one run and striking out seven.
In game one, Portland State took an early lead before Southern Utah responded with key hits from Alayah Toscano, Isabella Knight, Taralyn Ollison, and others to tie and eventually take control of the game. The turning point came in the sixth inning when Becerra hit a solo home run, followed by additional runs scored due to errors and timely hitting.
Game two saw Southern Utah score early with a home run from Savannah Lira and RBIs from Ramirez. LMU managed one run on a solo home run by Carlson, but Duncan’s pitching kept them at bay until Nielson closed out the victory.
The Thunderbirds are scheduled to face Portland State again on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., followed by another matchup against Loyola Marymount at 4:00 p.m. Live stats will be available through suutbirds.com, with broadcast coverage for the LMU game on ESPN+.
