Aggies make it three-straight wins with Weber State sweep
The Utah State softball team swept Weber State in a doubleheader Wednesday, the second game being called off early because of impending rain and wind.
USU 7, WSU 4
The Wildcats started things off in the first with a triple by third baseman Lyndsey Minnich to left field that scored senior London Clarke, who previously drew a walk, putting Weber State on the board, 1-0.
Aggie junior pitcher Mandy Harmon struck out two batters to move into the bottom of the inning.
With runners on the corners, Utah State tied the game on an RBI fielder’s choice single to send fellow outfielder Kassandra Uchida across the plate.
The Aggies scored another run in each of the next two innings to go up 3-1.
In the top of the fourth, center fielder Erika Dixon took Harmon’s 2-1 pitch to the fence in left-center for a triple, knocking in a pair of RBIs to tie the game at 3-3.
Harmon notched another strikeout to leave Dixon stranded 60 feet from the plate.
In the bottom of the fourth, Uchida singled up the middle. Second baseman Allison Lenzora bunted in the next at bat. Lenzora reached and advanced to second on a throwing error.
First baseman Christine Thomsen hit a sacrifice grounder to score Uchida and advance Lenzora to third in the next at-bat to put the Aggies up 4-3. Center fielder Hailey Froton then pulled off a squeeze bunt to let Lenzora extend the lead to 5-3.
“We’re doing a good job about executing the sac bunts and executing the squeezes to get the runs across the board and be aggressive in that area,” said Utah State head coach Carissa Millsap-Kalaba, “which is nice to see.”
In the next inning, Weber State catcher Janel Cunningham doubled to the right-field wall and advanced to third when Uchida’s throw home wasn’t in time to catch Minnich crossing the plate from first to make it 5-4 Aggies.
It was the last run the Wildcats scored.
Harmon had 10 strikeouts and pitched a complete game for Utah State, allowing five hits, four runs and walking five batters in 32 batters faced.
“She handled herself really well,” Millsap-Kalaba said of her ace. “She had a good, commanding presence whole entire game, which was really nice to see. Even through some of the battles, she did a really good job.”
In the bottom of the fifth with runners on first and second, Uchida hit a line-drive double over the first baseman’s head to clear the bases to make it 7-4, where the score stayed until Harmon struck out sophomore Brooke Silva to end the first game.
USU 10, WSU 3 (6 innings)
The Aggies extended their winning streak to a season-tying three with a victory in the second half of the double-header.
“It was great to have a really close game and then come back kind of spread it wide open,” Millsap-Kalaba said. “We did a really good job with staying according to our plan, working hard and making sure we got the little things done in the first game and in the second game.”
Lenzora scored first for Utah State in the first inning on a squeeze bunt by senior first baseman Kelley Kaneshiro. Sophomore Annie Thomas came on as a pinch runner for Kaneshiro and scored on an RBI single from catcher Samantha Miller to make it 2-0.
After three more runs in the bottom of the second, Kaneshiro hit a deep fly ball to the fence in right-center field. Wildcat outfielder Erika Dixon mishandled the catch at the wall and dropped the ball over the fence.
“It was really nice to see Kelley get that home run, even though it was pushed over by the center fielder,” Millsap-Kalaba said.
The Aggies scored 10 runs on six hits. Weber State committed four errors in the second game.
“We did a really good job of taking advantage of mistakes and making sure that we advance,” Millsap-Kalaba said. “We even got 120 feet on some of those advances.”
The Aggies scored four more runs before the umpires called the game in the top of the seventh inning because of inclement weather.
Utah State pitcher Dani Chaplin struck out nine batters in the win and forced the Wildcats to leave 14 batters on base.
“Dani came out really strong,” Millsap-Kalaba said. “She had her struggles with getting bases loaded, but she worked out of it with a strikeout.”
Junior Shelbi Tyteca was credited with the save, coming on for Chaplin in the bottom of the sixth.
Utah State moves to 14-25 on the season with the pair of wins.
“This is three in a row,” Millsap-Kalaba said. “We’re really starting to come together. I think the team is starting to come together, and they’re starting to do the little things really well. They’re starting to string the hits together, which is what we had an issue with in the beginning of the year.”
The Aggies will next face Western Athletic Conference rival Brigham Young University on April 13-14 in Provo.
– tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu.edu