Softball team loses 5 close games
Entering this weekend’s tournament, USU women’s softball coach Pam McCreesh said she was worried the Aggies might be rusty following a two-week break.
Her fears became a reality as the Aggies finished the weekend 0-5 at the University of Utah-hosted Red Desert Classic, held in St. George. With the losses, the Aggies dropped to 3-12 on the season.
The Aggies made a good showing in every game, McCreesh said, but had problems executing when the game was on the line. Their worst defeats came at the hands of the University of Nebraska and Utah by four runs.
“Our pitchers kept us in every single game this weekend,” she said. “We had runners on base, we had opportunities to score, but we couldn’t get that timely hit that we needed.”
USU will be in action again Saturday when they travel to Cedar City to play a double-header against Southern Utah University.
Utah 4, USU 0
Utah, known for strong hitting, relied on a one-hit shutout by pitcher Kristin Arbogast en route to a 4-1 victory over the Aggies.
With the score at 0-0 entering the bottom of the third inning, the Utes entered the scoreboard with what turned out to be the winning run, when Ute third baseman Lyndsey Trevis singled to center field, batted in Molly McLean.
The Utes added an insurance run in the fourth inning and two in the sixth – one of the runs driven in on a homer by first baseman Niki Hayhurst.
USU’s best scoring chance slipped by in the top of the first inning when Shannon Acevedo was left stranded on second base.
“We couldn’t get a runner past second base today and execute when we needed to,” McCreesh said.
No. 17 Nebraska 4, USU 0
Backed by Katie Decker’s one-hit complete game shutout, the University of Nebraska defeated the Aggies 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, despite the Aggies’ strong pitching performance.
Nebraska jumped on the Aggies quickly, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two-run jack by catcher Amber Burgess. After that, Aggie pitcher Xochitl Ramirez settled in and almost matched Decker pitch-for-pitch. Ramirez held the powerful Cornhuskers – with a lineup featuring four players with a .300 plus batting average – to only six hits the entire game.
The Cornhuskers put the game away in the sixth inning, when Nicole Trimboli hit a solo shot and Katie Decker singled to drive in Nebraska’s fourth run.
UC Santa Barbara 3, USU 1
Like the Nebraska game, the Aggies got behind in the first inning and couldn’t catch up, losing 3-1 to the University of California at Santa Barbara on Saturday.
The Gauchos scored twice in the first inning and once in the fourth before the Aggies mounted a comeback. Freshman second baseman Shannon Acevedo lead the charge, belting a one-run tatter in the bottom of the fifth inning.
With USCB clinging to a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh, the Aggies loaded the bases up with only one out, but Santa Barbara was able to get out of the jam and end the game.
Both teams finished with seven hits apiece.
Oklahoma State 2, USU 0
Despite junior pitcher Kristin Hommel’s emergence from an early-season slump, the Aggies were blanked 2-0 by Oklahoma State University on Friday.
Hommel held the Cowgirls to a measly five hits, striking out nine batters only to be outdone by OSU pitcher Sarah Knife Chief, who held the Aggies to three hits.
Fielding errors proved costly for the Aggies as the Cowgirls scored once in the second on an Aggie error and once in third on a wild pitch by Hommel.
Missouri 8, USU 7
Down 4-0 after two innings of play, the Aggies mounted a huge comeback, only to have the University of Missouri come back on them in the Tigers 8-7 victory Friday afternoon. With the victory, the Tigers enacted a measure of revenge on the Aggies (USU won the first meeting 6-1 Feb. 9).
Freshman Shannon Acevedo led the Aggie comeback with two hits, including a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The Aggies scored two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings and one in the sixth to take a 7-5 lead going into the bottom of the sixth.
The Tigers answered, scoring three runs on two hits and two Aggie errors. Missouri finished the game by retiring all three Aggie batters it faced in the seventh inning.