CEDAR CITY, Utah - April 16 - Southern Utah's Jacob Noyes recorded three consecutive strike outs after loading the bases in the top of the ninth inning to preserve an 11-9 victory over South Dakota State University on Thursday afternoon. The win moves the Thunderbirds to 19-14 on the season and 6-2 in conference play. The Jackrabbits dropped to 13-17 overall and 5-1 in Summit League play.

The Thunderbirds got off to a rocky start after allowing five runs in the first two innings. South Dakota State's three-run third inning was largely due to two costly Southern Utah errors and a wild pitch to put the lead off man on first base.

Bucky Aona's two-run home run in the home-half of the second trimmed the deficit to 5-2, but another four-run inning by the Jackrabbits in the top of the fourth gave the visiting team a 9-2 lead.

"I just don't think we had a lot of focus in those early innings," head coach David Eldredge said after the game. "We should have been more in the game than we were in the beginning and part of that responsibility falls on me."

The Thunderbirds looked liked they would be held scoreless in the bottom of the fourth after a strike out and a liner led to the first two outs of the inning. However, a double by Chester Wilson and a fielding error that put Bucky Aona on first was followed by a great hustle play by Joe Wright when the senior beat the second baseman's throw after a great deal of hesitation.

Wilson scored on the play and the Thunderbirds scored four more runs on two doubles and a throwing error by the third baseman, making the score 9-7.

Southern Utah added another run in the bottom of the fifth as Aona collected his game-high tying third RBI of the afternoon, driving in Wilson on a double to left center.

Jacob Romney came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth with one man out and bunted down the third base line. SDSU's Craig Parry had trouble fielding the ball after an abnormal hop and Romney beat out the throw to first. The play proved to be crucial as the next man up, Nick Freitas, blasted a two-run home run over fence to give the Thunderbirds the 10-9 lead. The home run marked Freitas' league-leading ninth round tripper this season and tied the University of Miami transfer for a game-high three RBI.

Wilson's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded gave Southern Utah an insurance run as Aona's towering fly ball to left field ended the inning during the next at bat with the fielder catching the ball on the warning track.

Noyes came on in the top of the ninth to close out the win for the Thunderbirds and found himself in a sticky situation after loading the bases on a lead-off walk and back-to-back singles. However, following a pow wow on the mound with Eldredge, the junior struck out the next three batters for his second save of the year.

"I told him that we needed him to be an anchor for this team," Eldredge said of the mound visit. "We have a lot of goals for our team and we needed him to come through for us in that moment and he did."

The teams will take to the field again tomorrow with a doubleheader beginning at Noon. The games will feature a special "Hawaii Day" promotion with food, contests and prizes. Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirts and outfits. SUU food services will also be providing a limited number of Hawaiian meals for five dollars.