Lady Ags finish big series with win over NMSU
The Aggie women’s softball team closed out their six-game home stretch Tuesday playing three games in two days against the New Mexico State Aggies.
USU went 1-2 with NMSU losing back-to-back games on Monday before they came out swinging Tuesday morning to take a win from the hard-hitting Newmags.
Game one of Monday’s double header was slow for the Aggies who went down 5-0 by the third inning. At the plate USU went three-up-three-down five straight innings, giving junior pitcher Kate Greenough little rest between outings. Greenough went seven innings, allowing nine hits, five earned runs and striking out six from NMSU. It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh inning that USU got on the board with four runs, but it was too little too late for the Aggies who ended the game 4-5.
USU was unable to keep their bats hot for game two, with the only hit coming in the form of a bloop fly ball over third base by freshman pinch hitter Gina Rawls. New Mexico, on the other hand, had no problems at the plate poking out 15 hits in just five innings before the mercy rule ended the game early. New Mexico State is far above all other WAC teams in home runs hit this season with 59 coming in to the week and 62 now, the three additional home runs all came in that second game – two of which sailed over both fences, landing in the middle of 800 East. Senior pitcher Lindsey Benson took the loss for the second game, but it wasn’t all negative. Benson now stands alone in the No. 3 spot for USU’s career strikeouts at 387 K’s.
“We didn’t play very well today,” said third-year head coach Candi Letts. “The team knows what they have to do to qualify for the conference tournament, and we just didn’t give it the energy today.”
The top seven teams in the WAC qualify to play in the conference tournament which takes place next month at Fresno State.
“We have to have a good attitude about it,” said junior catcher Simone Hubbard. “We gotta come out fighting tomorrow.”
That is exactly what they did.
After letting New Mexico State score one run in the top of the first inning USU fought right back with a run of their own in the bottom of the first. Although New Mexico was first to draw blood, USU’s defense was impeccable not allowing another maroon Aggie to cross the plate. Greenough was back in the circle for USU, pitching all seven innings, allowing five hits, with one earned run, no walks and seven strikeouts.
It was like a different offense at the plate for USU’s Aggies. The blue Aggies struck out only two times compared to the 11 K’s they had in two games the day before. The team doubled their hits compared to the previous day’s double header improving from five hits in two games to 10 hits in one. Junior right fielder Emily Reilly went 2-for-3 on the day. Joining her was classmate and center fielder Nicole Rupp who went 2-for-4. Hubbard went 1-for-3 on the day but made her line drive up the middle count driving in two runs. Two defensive standouts were freshman short stop Jasmine Harris and senior first baseman Aubrie Stroman.
The softball team’s hosts their annual Home Run Derby today at 4 p.m. at the LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. The cost to participate is $1.
USU travels to Reno to play first-place Nevada Friday and will play a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The teams then play a single game on Saturday at noon.
–c.h.j@aggiemail.usu.edu