Aggie softball wins three straight games at Capital Classic
After dropping its first two games of the Capital Classic in Sacramento, Calif., the Utah State softball team rebounded to win its final three games.
The Aggies also played against Washington on Sunday after their final game was rained out.
USU’s record improved to 5-17 on the season over the weekend.
USU 1, UNLV 0
A solo home run by Aggie designated player Sara Fleming was all Utah State would need to capture its third straight victory — a 1-0 shutout over UNLV Saturday afternoon.
With the victory, the Aggies improved to 2-0 against the Rebels (12-18) this season. USU outlasted UNLV 4-3 on March 7 in Las Vegas.
Fleming’s homer came in the bottom of the fourth inning off of Rebel pitcher Becky McDonald and was the only dent made by either team in what proved to be a pitcher’s duel between McDonald and Aggie freshman Leslie Higley.
Fortunately for USU, Higley got the better of the duel, pitching seven innings of shutout ball, while giving only four hits. Higley improved to 4-8 on the season, and has won her last two starts.
USU freshman second baseman Quela Henderson went 2-for-4 at the plate, and 4-for-8 on the day.
USU 6, EKU 2
With several close calls this year, it was only a matter of time before USU freshman pitcher Carli Baumgartner would pick her first collegiate win.
Baumgartner did just that Saturday night against Eastern Kentucky University, when the Aggies broke the game open in the sixth inning en route to a 6-2 decision over the Colonels Saturday morning.
Utah State scored five runs on five hits and two EKU (10-6) errors, and Baumgartner and the Aggie defense staved off a late Colonel rally.
Leading the charge for the Aggie offense was Henderson and Casey Smith, who went a combined 4-for-6 at the plate. However, the USU offense was hardly a two-person effort as eight different Aggies recorded base hits.
Down 6-1 in the seventh inning, the Colonels were able to load the bases with no outs, but the Aggie defense responded, holding EKU to one run on a Jonelle Csora RBI single.
USU 10, Long Island 4
After being held to one run in its previous two games, the Utah State bats came alive against Long Island University, as the Aggies collected a season-high 13 hits in their 10-4 victory over the Blackbirds on Friday.
“It was an overall team effort today,” said USU Head Coach Debbie Bilbao. “There were so many great performances today.”
Perhaps even more important than the individual performances was USU’s ability to successfully overcome a deficit the first time this season.
Down 4-1 at the top of the third inning, senior catcher Amanda Carlson injected life into the Aggie offense, with a two-run shot over the right-field wall.
With the game knotted at 4-4 after five innings, USU completed the comeback in a big way, as the Aggies sent 10 batters to the plate in the sixth inning. By the time the smoke cleared, Utah State had scored six runs on five hits.
The Aggies were also aided by three Long Island errors in the inning.
First baseman Kelly Leos and third baseman Stephanie Vasarhely both finished with a game-high three hits. Carlson added two hits and three RBI’s.
“We got almost everyone on base today,” Bilbao said. “Our offense, especially [against Long Island] was something that should let everyone know that we are a threat.”
California 5, USU 1
For six and one-third innings, Utah State was within striking distance of the defending national champion California Golden Bears.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, Cal (25-6), which had stranded 10 runners through six innings, would respond with three runs on four hits in the seventh inning en route to a 5-1 victory Friday afternoon.
Despite the loss, Bilbao said she was more than happy with the way Utah State battled against the No. 7 Golden Bears.
“We had a tremendous defensive performance, and got out of a lot of really though jams,” she said.
Down 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, USU would rally. A Carlson double and Vasarhely single gave the Aggies runners on first and third with no outs.
However, Vasarhely was caught trying to steal second, and the Aggies settled for a Sara Fleming sacrifice fly, cutting the Cal lead to 2-1.
USU would stay in the game thanks in large part to the pitching of Baumgartner, but pick up only one hit the rest of the game.
“Carli Baumgartner threw just an unbelievable game through six and one-third [innings],” Bilbao said.
Iowa 9, USU 0
The University of Iowa continued its hot play, and picked up its 15th straight victory with a 9-0 shutout of Utah State Thursday night in the opening game of the Capital Classic for both teams.
Iowa (14-5) took control of the game in the fifth inning, scoring seven runs on hits, including a two-run blast by second baseman Jessica Bashor.
The final game of the Capital Classic was cancelled because of rain, but once the field dried out enough, the Aggies decided to play third-ranked Washington (31-2-1). The Huskies defeated USU 6-0.
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu