Softball 5/6/2013 9:21:00 PM SUU Strategic Communication

T-Birds at Big Sky Championship this Week

SOFTBALL LOOKS TO BRING FIRST BIG SKY TITLE TO SUU
CEDAR CITY, Utah - The Thunderbird softball team is headed to the postseason this week where it could have the chance to bring home the first Big Sky team championship for Southern Utah. SUU (16-32, 9-6 BSC) finished third in the conference standings in the first-year league and will face second-seeded Portland State (22-29, 14-4) on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. in the tournament's opening game. Regular season winner and tournament host Idaho State (28-21, 14-4) will then take on Sacramento State (22-20, 7-8) that same afteroon at 4:o0 p.m. The outcome of those games will determine the scheduling and matchups for the ensuing rounds. Further tournament information is available at www.bigskyconf.com.

Coverage of SUU softball and live stats for the games are available online at www.suutbirds.com.

TOP T-BIRDS
Mikkel Griffin and Kadi Henderson are currently tied for the team lead with six home runs apiece. Griffin also ranks second on the team with a .318 batting average. Kelsey Bryant has hit five home runs and is first in the SUU lineup with a .340 average (including a mark of .471 in Big Sky games), 35 RBI, 16 doubles and 28 runs scored. Ariel Zimmerman leads SUU in the circle with an overall record of 10-18 including a mark of 6-4 in conference play.

LAST TIME OUT IN THE BIG SKY
The Thunderbirds dropped two-of-three to visiting Northern Colorado in their final conference series but were still able to lock up a spot in the Big Sky Tournament. SUU fell in the series opener by a 7-6 margin before rallying from an 11-4 deficit to capture the second contest by a score of 13-11. The Bears then held on for a 6-4 win in the final matchup. The T-Birds hit .394 as a team against UNC but stranded 28 base runners over the three games. Senior catcher Katie Olinger led SUU at the plate hitting 4-of-8 with five RBI and three runs scored.

BIG SKY CHAMPIONSHIP
The Big Sky Conference added softball as a sponsored sport prior to the 2013 season after the addition of member schools Southern Utah and North Dakota gave the league the six-team minimum required by the NCAA. That means that this week's champion will go on to represent the Big Sky at the NCAA regionals which are set to begin May 16-19.

PORTLAND STATE
Portland State narrowly missed the opportunity to host the tournament after finishing the season by sweeping North Dakota to post a conference record of 14-4 to match Idaho State but surrendered the tie-breaker after dropping its series against the Bengals. The Vikings are led by sophomore infielder Brittany Hendrickson who hit .358 for the season while racking up 40 RBI and eight home runs. Anna Bertrand posted a record of 18-15 in the circle with a 2.88 ERA for PSU and leads the Big Sky with 166 strikeouts.

IDAHO STATE
The Bengals wrapped up their regular season with a pair of vicotories at Sacramento State to capture their fourth series win in conference play, making the Thunderbirds the only Big Sky team to knock off ISU in a three-game set this year. Idaho State is hitting .339 as a team thanks to their top-five hitters who are all at .360 or better. Cathcer Vicky Galasso leads the way with a .476 average, 17 home runs, 57 RBI, 14 doubles and 51 runs scored. Amanda Fitzsimmons has collected 19 homers while leading the Bengals in the circle with a record of 13-12 on a 4.33 ERA.

SACRAMENTO STATE
Sacramento State comes into the tournament with a team ERA of 1.72 in Big Sky contests. Caitlin Brooks has gone 6-2 with 72 strikeouts over 44.2 innings in conference play and holds a 1.41 ERA for the season while allowing hitters just a .156 average. Freshman catcher Kortney Solis leads the team with 17 RBI on the year and outfielder Paige Martin ranks first in the Hornet lineup with a .341 batting average.

ZIMMERMAN NAMED BIG SKY PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Southern Utah University's Ariel Zimmerman was named the Big Sky Conference Pitcher of the Week on April 21 after picking up a pair of wins during the Thunderbirds three-game sweep of Weber State. The Lehi, Utah native went 3-0 on the week after taking a victory at Utah State before posting two wins over the Wildcats. Zimmerman turned in six strikeouts during each of her appearances in the circle at WSU along with a 1.31 ERA to improve her conference record to 6-3 on the year.

SUU PICKED THIRD IN FIRST BIG SKY POLL
Southern Utah ranked third in the preseason coaches' poll released by the Big Sky Conference, picking up one first-place vote. Portland State earned the top spot after being voted number one by five coaches and Sacramento State came in second while also receiving a first-place nomination. Northern Colorado was selected fourth, followed by Weber State in fifth and North Dakota and Idaho State who rounded out the bottom of the poll.

       2013 Big Sky Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll
   1.   Portland State       34 (5)
   2.   Sacramento State       31 (1)
   3.   Southern Utah       23 (1)
   4.   Northern Colorado       20
   5.   Weber State           16
   6.   North Dakota       15
   7.   Idaho State           8

SUU RECENT POSTSEASON HISTORY
While this is the first year the Big Sky has held a championship in softball, taking a trip to the postseason is nothing new to the Thunderbirds who are on their way to a third-consecutive conference tournament appearance. Southern Utah went to back-to-back Summit League Championships in 2o11 and 2012 and advanced to the NCAA Regionals as recently as 2007.

T-BIRDS KNOW HOW TO TURN TWO
The Thunderbird middle infielders made opponents pay for hitting ground balls this year, turning 36 double plays in 48 regular season games. Southern Utah's average of 0.77 double plays a contest currently leads the nation.

SWINGING FOR THE FENCES
The Southern Utah lineup has accounted for 328 total hits this season, 25 of which were home runs. That equates to one dinger for roughly every 13 hits. Kadi Henderson and Mikkel Griffin lead the team with six round-trippers apiece, Kelsey Bryant is second with five and Madison Resley has hit four. Of the Thunderbirds' 167 RBI this year, 53 have come via the long ball.

PREP STARS
Southern Utah freshman Kylee Wolf joins the T-Birds after a historic career at Spanish Fork High School. The new SUU outfielder holds Utah high school records for single-game RBI with 11 and single season RBI with 63. Her .454 high school career batting average is among the top ten in Utah history and her mark of 62 hits in a season ranks second all-time to her teammate Kelli Hales who had 63 hits at SFHS. Wolf also ranks third in the record book with 151 career hits, 24 career home runs and 127 career RBI.

MIKKEL GRIFFIN NAMED EASTON ALL-AMERICAN
SUU senior outfielder Mikkel Griffin was named an Easton NCAA Division I Second-team All-American following a strong junior season for the Thunderbirds. The honor came in addition to her Summit League Player of the Year recognition received earlier in the year. Griffin was tops for the Thunderbirds at the plate, leading the team with a .404 average, 65 hits, 12 home runs, 115 total bases, 10 stolen bases and a .714 slugging percentage. Her home run total also led the Summit League in addition to her total base and slugging percentage marks.

SUU RECORD WATCH
Kadi Henderson has collected six home runs on the year to up her career total to 19 overall. That number ties her with Madison Resley, who has hit four homers so far, for eighth place in the Southern Utah career record book. Mikkel Griffin is just behind with a total of 18 after hitting 12 last year and six more this season. As a team the Thunderbirds have combined to hit 25 home runs in 2013, a mark that ranks ninth all-time in a single season by an SUU team.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Kelsey Bryant: INF; 5' 11"; Senior

#17 Mikkel Griffin: INF; 5' 5"; Senior

#7 Kelli Hales: INF; 5' 5"; Freshman

#5 Kadi Henderson: UT; 5' 3"; Junior

#25 Katie Olinger: C; 5' 4"; Senior

#00 Madison Resley: 1B; 5' 11"; Junior

#27 Kylee Wolf: OF; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#23 Kelsey Bryant
: 5' 11"; Senior
: INF

#17 Mikkel Griffin
: 5' 5"; Senior
: INF

#7 Kelli Hales
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: INF

#5 Kadi Henderson
: 5' 3"; Junior
: UT

#25 Katie Olinger
: 5' 4"; Senior
: C

#00 Madison Resley
: 5' 11"; Junior
: 1B

#27 Kylee Wolf
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: OF