Aggie softball drops 4
The Utah State softball team came out 1-4 for all five games it played last weekend at the Aggie Classic Tournament at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
The tournament started Friday and the Aggies got their lone win after beating Northwestern 3-2.
Garnett sent a single down the middle in the first inning that brought Roxanne Ritchie home putting the Aggies up 1-0.
At the start of the seventh it was even, but with the help of an error by Northwestern, Ritchie was brought home again by Garnett ending the game 3-2.
Both Jessica Garnett and Quela Henderson-Leonhardt hit an even 3-3 from the plate. Pitchers Leslie Higley and Heather Straight each only gave up one run.
Straight pitched for almost five innings but Higley recorded the win, pitching in the last two innings.
“It was great to win, but it was more difficult to play teams who had played outside,” head coach Lonny Sargent said.
In the second game against top 25 ranked Texas A&M, Utah State lost 15-1.
It was a little difficult for the Aggies to play with 1,100 fans watching from Texas A&M, Sargent said.
Utah State was leading 1-0 after Garnett hit a double that sent Henderson-Leonhardt home.
Texas A&M however, shot up from behind with five runs in the second, third and fourth, bringing the game to a close after the fifth.
“Texas A&M was ranked No. 21 for a reason,” Sargent added.
Utah State only recorded one hit while Texas A&M had 16 on the day.
Sargent said after losing the second game to Texas A&M, Utah State’s morale was down a bit.
On Saturday, Utah State played Northwestern and Texas A&M again, and lost both games.
Northwestern began strong with a home run in the first and another run in the second. Garnett did not allow one more run the rest of the game.
Garnett pitched her fist complete game. She gave up only six hits and two runs but it took her win loss record down to 0-3.
She said with her record she thinks she can improve her pitching.
In the fifth inning Lauren Guzman and Ritchie were each on base, but the team was not able to send them home.
Northwestern won 2-0 after the seventh inning.
“We struggled, our pitching struggled, our offense struggled,” Sargent said.
In the second game against the No. 21 teami nthe country, Texas A&M dominated in the first and second innings with three runs in each inning. Texas A&M scored another run in the third sending the score to 7-0.
Garnett hit her first home run of the season over the left field wall in the fourth, bringing the score to 7-1.
“It was my first ever home run, it felt pretty good,” Garnett said. It was Utah State’s first and only run of the game.
Texas A&M stormed ahead with four more runs in the fourth. By the fifth the game was over with Texas A&M wining 11-1.
On Sunday, the Aggies took on Mississippi and lost 9-1.
Ole Miss exploded early with two runs in the first and another in the second.
Henderson-Leonhardt was 3-2 from the plate and tried to save the team. Henderson-Leonhardt hit a single in the third, bringing Jeanine Hernandez home scoring the first and only run for the Aggies.
Texas A&M’s Sarah Fleming dominated going 2-2 from the plate, and the Aggies could not stop her swing. It was a close game up till the fifth when Ole Miss scored four runs. The game was over after the sixth with Mississippi winning 9-1.
Ole Miss was helped by two errors from the Aggies.
Starting pitcher, Leslie Higley, pitched four innings and gave up six runs and nine hits, which sent her record to 2-3.
Heather Straight pitched only one inning and gave up two earned runs and three hits.
The losses this weekend sent the Aggies’ season record down to 3-8.
“Overall, it was not the best days we could have,” Sargent said.
“We just need to play together as a team,” Garnett said.
“We can’t make excuses we need to focus ourselves and adjust,” he said. “This week I think we’ve moved on, we need to know what to do to stay with those top teams, and we’ll be fine.”
Garnett said she feels confident going into the next games and hopes the team does well.
The Aggies head down to Cedar City Saturday to play Southern Utah at noon and again at 2:30 p.m.
-ranaebang@cc.usu.edu