The Jackrabbits couldn’t find timely hitting in a loss to Southern Utah.

Assistant Sports Editor

SDSU softball head coach Joanna Lane was visibly disappointed in her team’s performance on Saturday afternoon.

She had every right to be, especially after Southern Utah (18-21, 9-3) pitcher Heather Black mowed through Jackrabbits batting order, picking up 15 strikeouts and the 2-1 victory for the Thunderbirds on Apr. 9 at Jackrabbit Softball Stadium.

“We’re to the point where we can’t use our youth or inexperience as an excuse anymore,” said Lane, of the Jacks’ sixth one-run loss of 2011.

The Jacks (8-26, 5-7) were the first ones on the scoreboard again, this time with Ashley Durazo driving in Devon Reick with a liner to center for the early 1-0 lead. From there on out, Black was electric, constructing a run of eight strikeouts in the through the second, third, and fourth inning.

Much like the drizzly weather during the game, SDSU’s pitching sputtered early. Starter Kori Seidlitz had trouble finding the strike zone, giving up five walks in just over an inning, including four in a row, allowing Southern Utah to tie the game on a bases-loaded walk in the second.

“I think you can credit her for going after our weakness. We’ve had the same weakness for the last eight games and we make some adjustments but we don’t make them consistently,” Lane said.

Pam Nicholson provided the stop gap relief for the Jackrabbits, giving up five hits in six innings of relief but the T-Birds took the lead in the top of the seventh inning on an RBI single by Darleen Fernandez, that scored Aly Daniels from second base. SDSU was able to get a runner to first in the bottom of the inning but Black picked up all three outs by the strikeout for her 14th win of the year.

“Pam did a great job and the defense was there but it was definitely on our offense,” Lane said.

SDSU mustered three hits, the eighth time this season the Jacks have been held to three hits or less.

“In the first inning it looked like we were where we needed to be and I think we tried to coast a little bit. When you have somebody on the ropes, you got to go after them and we didn’t do that,” Lane said.

The Jacks make a Wisconsin swing this week, playing doubleheaders against the Big Ten’s Badgers on Wednesday and meeting Wisconsin-Green Bay Thursday, before a weekend series at IUPUI.