USU Softball looks for redemption against Broncos in Mountain West tournament opener
After a disappointing regular season finale in Boise, the Utah State softball team heads into the Mountain West tournament looking for redemption and a chance to rewrite their postseason narrative.
Seeded No. 5, the Aggies, 26–25, will face No. 4-seeded Boise State, 33–20, their most recent opponent, in a single-elimination first-round matchup on May 6 at 4 p.m. MST. The winner will advance to face top-seeded Nevada in the double-elimination round two on May 7.
Last week’s three-game sweep by the Broncos left a bitter taste in Utah State’s mouth. Boise State won convincingly, outscoring the Aggies 26-9 over the series and dominating in all facets of the game.
But head coach Todd Judge insists his team is ready to flip the script.
“We had our two best practices of the year after that [series],” Judge said. “It’s all smiles. It’s not anxiousness. It doesn’t look nervous. It looks excited to go play the way we did earlier in the year.”
Despite last week’s sweep, the Aggies aren’t entering the tournament without confidence against their first-round opponent. Utah State had plenty of hard-hit balls that failed to fall and left multiple runners on base in four different innings in game one.
In game two, they showcased their power across their batting lineup with back-to-back-to-back home runs from Olivia Marble, Alex Bunton and Lyndsey Madrigal.
However, the issues that plagued them all season persisted: timely hitting, defensive errors and inconsistent pitching. In the series finale, USU managed just four hits, committed three errors and cycled through four pitchers, none of which could stop the bleeding.
KEYS TO THE ROUND ONE MATCHUP
Judge is banking on a refreshed mindset and a more aggressive, strategic approach to hitting and situational pitching.
The Aggies plan to start Rylie Pindel, who pitched in the second game of last week’s series. While she struggled with efficiency — throwing 142 pitches in six innings and allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits — Judge praised her competitiveness and revealed plans to support her differently this time around.
“I thought [Pindel] had a really good outing,” Judge said. “If you go back and look at the film, she made two bad pitches in the game. The other team’s pitcher probably made 10 bad pitches in the game. The difference is they capitalized on those bad pitches, and we did not.”
Utah State’s pitching staff is thin, and Judge emphasized the plan to ride Pindel along with Emmalyn Brinka, assuming they can progress further into the tournament.
A major concern remains the recent form of the Aggies’ two top hitters, Ariel Fifita and Giselle Gonzalez. The senior sluggers have been slumping at the worst possible time — Fifita has just five hits in her last 19 at-bats, while Gonzalez has struggled mightily, going 2-for-21 with five strikeouts over that span.
Judge isn’t ignoring their struggles but is urging them not to force the issue.
“They’ve taken ownership,” Judge said. “The big thing for them is not to press and just kind of go back to their fundamentals. When you start putting the ball out of the park a lot and hitting a lot of big doubles, you start to get a little bit too big at the plate. So, all we worked on this week was no pop, no pull, hitting the ball the other way, hard on the ground, getting the ball out of the air.”
The mental reset has been central to team meetings and practices heading into the tournament. In a moment Judge described as a turning point, the team held a player-led meeting after the Boise sweep — a rarity in a program still learning how to handle postseason expectations.
“This is a new program trying to understand how to win in the postseason and move on,” Judge said. “But they’re in a great place right now.”
Boise State, meanwhile, comes in riding high.
After being swept by San Jose State the week before, the Broncos stormed back with confidence against the Aggies. They needed a win in the series to clinch their postseason berth, and they came through with every key play.
Aggressive on the base paths, opportunistic at the plate and clean defensively, the Broncos capitalized on every USU mistake.
Their batting lineup featured consistent production from top to bottom, including standout performances from Sophia Knight — 5-for-11 with two stolen bases and a triple — Brooklynn Pettis — 5-for-8 with three runs — and Sydney Groves — 5-for-7 with three RBIs.
Their pitching rotation held the Aggies to just nine runs across three games, even as Utah State hit a handful of deep shots that fell just short.
“We have to get off to a good start,” Judge said. “We can’t get down early. We’ve been preaching all week to get a good start in the [pitching] circle, and we need to get back to hitting the way we used to.”
For Utah State, this game is more than a rematch — it’s a chance to prove they belong among the elite teams in the conference. The Aggies are still relatively new to postseason play under Judge and are learning how to handle the pressures that come with it.
“We’ve talked all year about getting here,” Judge said. “Now it’s time to show what we can do. You can’t get swept by a team and not respond. We’re ready to respond.”
First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. MST at SDSU Softball Stadium.