Cougars put up late rally
The Utah State softball team maintained control through six innings in two games, but late rallies by BYU downed the Aggies.
In Thursday’s doubleheader at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field, five runs in the top of the seventh inning in the first game and two runs in the top of the seventh inning in the second game lifted the Cougars to a pair of victories over the Aggies.
“We played tough ball there for twelve innings,” Aggie catcher Breanne Smith said. “We missed a couple of innings there.”
Aggie coach Debbie Bilbao said, “We played great ball today. Had we put a little bit more offensive pressure on them in the first six innings, when we had opportunities to score, that seventh inning doesn’t matter.”
In the first game the Aggies trailed 2-1 but managed to mount a sixth inning rally, scoring two runs on three hits.
“We’re starting to put the ball in play hard,” Smith said. “We’re there; we’re playing good ball.”
The Aggies held a slim 3-2 lead going into the seventh and were facing the middle of BYU’s lineup.
With runners on the corners and two outs, Aggie pitcher Kristen Hommel threw a pitch in the dirt, and though Smith blocked the ball, it deflected out in front of her. In the momentary confusion, Cougar Brooke Cadiente crossed the plate for the tying run.
A walk and an error later, the Aggies were facing leadoff hitter Oli Keohohou with two outs.
Hommel went ahead in the count 2-2, but Keohohou got around on the next pitch launching the ball over the left field fence for a grand slam putting BYU up 7-3.
The Aggies went down in order in the bottom half of the inning.
“Oli [Keohohou] wasn’t the deciding factor,” Bilbao said. “It never should have came to her.”
The second game was deja vu for the Aggies.
With Utah State ahead, 2-1, entering the seventh, again BYU put together a rally and again a pitch in the dirt hurt USU.
With runners on second and third with two outs, USU pitcher Lindsay Janssen put a pitch in the dirt, Smith lost the ball and the tying run scored from third.
“I think I could have dug the ball a little bit better,” Breanne said. “I asked for them in the dirt because I think they’ll swing at it and miss it. It’s my job to dig it and I felt like I didn’t do that as good as I should have.”
BYU picked up the winning run when Janssen made a throwing error to first.
Utah State failed to rally in their half of the inning and lost the second game, 3-2.
“Overall we played very good defense and I’m very please with the effort that they came out and showed today,” Bilbao said. “We were showing a lot of heart and a lot of character and that’s a lot more important to me right now than wins and losses.”
The Aggies are now 4-35 on the season while BYU improved to 26-16.
After an 11-game homestand, the Aggies will be back on the road for a three game Big West conference series at Sacramento State University Saturday and Sunday.
Prior to coming to USU, Bilbao was an assistant at Sacramento State for two years. Sacramento State is 13-20 overall and 2-6 in conference.
“They have a pretty good pitching staff and they hit the ball as well,” Bilbao said. “They’re kind of in the same situation; we’re real close in conference standings so it’s going to be a crap shoot. If we go out and play hard, which I expect that we will, we’ll come out of there feeling good about ourselves.”