Home runs lift Ags to victory in second game
After two days and two straight losses, the Aggie softball team pulled it together Saturday with a 7-5 win against the Nevada Wolf Pack, ending the Wolf Pack’s 11-game winning streak.
The Wolf Pack, who are 4-5 in the WAC, started off slow Friday with no runs, hits, errors, or runners left on base in the first inning.
The Aggies, 1-7 in the WAC, had a better start than Nevada with senior first baseman Jamie Fife getting the first hit of the game. Unfortunately, there were no other hits and USU entered the second inning with no score.
The Wolf Pack set the pace of the game in the third inning with five hits and five runs. Carrying that momentum throughout the whole game, Nevada walked away with a 9-0 victory against Utah State.
A double-header on Saturday left the Aggies with a loss and a victory, showing drastic improvement from yesterday.
“It’s been the same song over and over; we’ve played good then we’ve played a little bad,” Head Coach Candi Letts said. “Today we just talked about getting better than yesterday.”
And that’s what they did.
Nevada junior first baseman Tyler Shafer started off the game with a single run, then stole second base on a passed ball. Shafer advanced to third and with freshman short stop Sam Bias’ single hit to shortstop, Shafer brought it in with the Wolf Pack’s first score of the game. After senior second baseman Kym Silagyi’s triple run, Bias ran home putting them up two runs at the top of the first inning.
With the Aggies up to bat, junior third baseman Amy Schaible hit a single to pitcher, putting her on first base. With freshman outfielder Amanda Grow’s ground hit, Schaible then advanced to second base. Fife and sophomore first baseman Aubrie Stroman both walked, putting Schaible on third. After Stroman and Fife advancing to second and third, Schaible ran home, putting the Aggies down only 2-1 at the bottom of the first inning.
The pace slowed down for both teams and the second and there were no scores in the second or third innings.
The Wolf Pack came back in the fourth inning, having four hits and four runs.
Fife hit a double in the sixth, followed by a walk by Stroman. Junior short stop Tara Evans hit a single and Fife was able to run home for the Aggies’ second score of the game.
By the seventh inning, momentum was lost for Utah State and they fell yet again to Nevada with a score of 6-2. But even with the loss, the improvement from Friday’s game was enough to keep the girls’ spirits high.
“When they started coming back in that first game, we saw more of a glimmer in their eyes instead of that bleakness,” Letts said. “It helped leap us into the second game.”
With a 20-minute break between Saturday’s game 1 and 2, the Aggies were able to recuperate after their second loss and prove they had it in them.
Nevada showed their talent at the beginning of the game, throwing down three runs and three hits in the first inning.
The Aggies had scoreless start after Schaible lined out to right field and senior outfielder Ashley Bellum and Fife’s hits popping up in the first inning.
Neither teams scored in the second inning, but Nevada was able to bring two home in the third.
USU fought hard in the fourth inning and they challenged Nevada for the first time. Fife’s single to third base was followed by a double hit by Stroman, sending Fife home. Evans stepped up and hit a single to right field. After Stroman’s advance to third, Evans stole second. She then stole third and Stroman ran home, putting another score on the board for the Aggies. The inning ended with an impressive two-score homerun by senior catcher Jami Uragami, her first here at Utah State.
“I was excited,” Uragami said. “It was my first home run here.”
Uragami seemed to have set the pace for the Aggies, giving them motivation to keep going.
“I think [the homerun] sparked a little fire but I think we were already pretty much pissed.”
The Aggies kept the fire lit and dominated the fifth inning. With a homerun by Fife, who brought herself and Schaible home, the team was on their way to victory.
“We had no other choice than to stay positive because it’s all up hill for us,” Fife said.
Nevada had a few hits the rest of the game, but could not pull off anymore runs.
USU finally defeated Nevada 7-5, which was Letts’ 700th career game and USU’s first victory over the Wolf Pack since 1989.
-bfairman@cc.usu.edu