Ag softball sweeps SUU
The Utah State softball team went 4-0 and 9-5 in its double-header against Southern Utah University Saturday in Cedar City.
The USU pitchers, Leslie Higley and Heather Straight were on fire in the first game against SUU.
Pitching the first five innings, Higley struck out three batters and only let four hits get past her which evened her record to 3-3.
It was Higley’s fourth shutout of her career and the first of the season.
At the top of the third inning, with two on base, Quela Henderson-Leonhardt smacked the ball out of the field for a three-run home run.
In the sixth, the Thunderbirds had two on, but with a new pitcher, Straight, and a line-out double play, SUU had no chance of tying it up.
Four Aggie players: Amy Schaible, Shawn Bjarnson, Henderson-Leonhardt and Michelle Vlahos, all scored hits over SUU.
The Ags ended the game with six hits while SUU had only four.
In the second game, USU scored the second-most runs of the season while beating SUU 9-5.
The Thunderbirds came out strong at the beginning. They had two runs in the first inning followed by two in the third.
But the Aggies brought out the power in the fourth.
With three on base, Kelly Leos sent a double down the center, sending Schaible and Amanda Carver home safe for two runs.
One more run was scored in the fourth to bring the score up to 4-3.
In the fifth, the Thunderbirds only got one run. And in the sixth the Aggies quickly put the game away with six runs.
Three Aggies: Carver, Henderson-Leonhardt and Leos hit doubles and Sara Fleming sent two more Aggies home after shooting the ball into the right field for a triple.
For the day, USU recorded 11 hits, while SUU hit 13.
-ranaebang@cc.usu.edu