Softball team falls to Arizona State
The Aggies fell to Arizona State 2-11 Sunday at the Kajikawa Tournament hosted by ASU.
Arizona came from behind to show the Aggies why they are ranked in the top 25 last Sunday.
The Sun Devils led the game in the first inning with 1-0 lead. But with one runner on base, in the top of the third, Michell Vlahos hit the first pitch over the left field fence, scoring her second home run of the season putting the Aggies up 2-1.
With the lead, the Aggie softabll coach Lonnie Sargent said the pitchers were confident and the USU team was playing “great up until the sixth inning.”
In the sixth and seventh innings the Sun Devils shot up from behind with ten runs, to make a 11-2 win over the Aggies. The Aggies were shut down by the Sun Devils after Arizona’s second home run, Sargent said.
He added the 10-run lead was what showed the Aggies why Arizona State was a strong opponent.
Utah State’s starting pitcher, Leslie Higley, pitched five innings but gave away three runs and six hits. That was her first loss this season and took her win and loss record down to 1-1.
“We had an opportunity to win we just didn’t play all the way to the finish,” Higley said.
She also said the team learned a lot but could have learned more if it hadn’t given up toward the end.
“The Arizona State fans were worried and considered us a good team,” Sargent said.
“Parents congradulated us because they thought we were good,” Higley added. “That was really nice.”
Sargent also said the comments from the ASU fans “made the girls feel good and will fuel the team for the rest of the season.”
Vlahos ended the game 2-for-2 from the plate, a home run and two RBIs.
Four USU players, Amy Schaible, Candice Hatch, Roxanne Ritchie and Vlahos all earned hits over Arizona State. The Aggies also had five errors, which helped the Sun Devils.
It was raining for most of the weekend at ASU, forcing the Aggies to miss their games against Texas and South Carolina.
Sargent said the Aggies had prepared to play against both those teams the first day and it didn’t seem worth it to pay all the money to have 24 people just sit in a hotel.
“We went to the movies one night and out to dinner,” Higley said. “I guess it was good team time.”
Despite that, she said she would rather have played games, but they didn’t even see the sun until Sunday.
The rain put the team in a different mind set. It was hard to make the adjustment for the Arizona State game on Sunday, coach Sargent said.
Even with their busy schedule, the Aggies have two open dates for make up games this season.
Sargent said he is looking forward to the next games in the Texas A&M hosted Aggie Classic Tournament this weekend. The Aggies face two teams Friday, Northwestern at 12:15 p.m. and Texas A&M at 2:30 p.m.
The Aggies are hoping they won’t have another game canceled because of rain. But, Sargent said, the weather looks good for Friday and Sunday, but Saturday might have some thunderstorms.
The Aggies practice in the indoor field at the Stan Laub Indoor Training Center, which makes it hard for the Aggies to play games right now. Sargent said most of the other teams practice on dry fields.
“We want to play some more and get out of the snow onto a field,” Sargent said because playing outside is not the same as playing in the Stan Laub Building.
-ranaebang@cc.usu.edu