Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Southern Utah (Senior Day)
Wildcats drop series, home finale to Thunderbirds
4/21/2013 1:38:00 AM | Softball
OGDEN, Utah – Battling the elements as well as their in-state rivals, the Wildcats came up short of snagging a victory in their home finale on Saturday afternoon.
Despite outhitting Southern Utah, the Weber State University softball team fell 7-2 to the Thunderbirds in a soggy, rain-soaked affair at Wildcat Softball Field.
With a passing rain storm and wet grounds delaying the first pitch by 45 minutes, the afternoon also saw a 42-minute rain delay in the top of the fourth inning as grounds crew battled to keep the infield playable.
Center fielder London Clarke, the Wildcats' lone senior, was honored by the team and her parents, Doug and Roberta, threw a ceremonial first pitch. Clarke, a native of North Ogden, Utah, reached base in all four of her trips to the plate on the afternoon.
Freshman right fielder Dusti Blair sang the national anthem prior to the first pitch, before heading to the outfield where she recorded a career-high five putouts.
Junior shortstop Brooke Silva and junior catcher Desiree Mejia each had two hits, with Mejia smashing her fifth double of the season in the sixth inning.
Freshman third baseman Alyson Kulp, freshman first baseman Krystin Kubo, junior right-hander Morgan Allaband and freshman left fielder Rudi Barrios each tallied hits for the Wildcats.
“We hit the ball hard, but we hit it right at them and they made the plays to stop us from scoring,” Weber State coach Tina Johnson said. “London played well all weekend, it's unfortunate that we couldn't bust through to have a chance at postseason play and extend her playing career.”
WSU had a prime chance to take its first lead of the series in the first inning, with two runners on base, but wasn't able to push them across and Southern Utah took a 3-0 lead on a home run by Ariel Morbeck in the second inning.
With rapidly increasing rain falling in the fourth inning, the Wildcats struggled from the mound and as three runs scored on three wild pitches, while WSU also issued two walks and hit a batter before play was finally suspended for 42 minutes. After play was restarted, Weber State closed down the inning with a 9-2-5 double play to end the inning.
The Wildcats were finally able to jump-start their offense in bottom half of the inning as Silva, Kubo and Mejia each single to load up the bases, before Allaband hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Silva. Barrios singled up the middle in the next at-bat to score Kubo, but Weber State could get no closer over the final three innings.
The Wildcats are now off for 10 days, having their bye from Big Sky Conference play next weekend, and will return to action on April 30 in a non-conference doubleheader at Utah Valley, before wrapping up their 2013 season on May 4-5 against Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo.
