Do or die time for softball team

    With six games left in the USU softball team’s regular season, the Aggies are going to need to snag at least two wins and will need some help from Boise State to get to the conference tournament, said head coach Candi Letts.
    Letts said the USU softball team has had a difficult season, posting an overall record of 10-32 and a conference record of 3-12, but that these losses have not come against weak teams. The softball team has played six teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation, such as Stanford, Arizona State, Tennessee and Washington. This is a team that has taken the bull by the horns, so to speak, and not backed down. Yet, there is still work to do.
    If the USU softball team is able to win at least two of the games they have ahead, and if Boise State, which holds a current record of 4-10 in conference, either lays a goose egg over the rest of their season or wins at least two less than the Aggies, USU will overtake them in the conference standings and will earn the final seed to the tournament. Of all the WAC teams, only seven earn the right to take a trip to the tournament which will take place in Fresno, Calif., May 6-9. Right now, USU is sitting at last in the conference, but could potentially move as high as the sixth seed with a good showing.
    The Aggies will host six games over the next two weeks at home against the top two teams in the conference, the Fresno State Bulldogs and the Nevada Wolfpack. As of now, the Pack is sitting at first place with a conference record of 10-4, and Fresno is nipping at their heels with a record of 10-5. Letts said USU will have to play with “reckless abandon” if they want to have a chance at a win.
    “We have to play aggressive, take chances and risks,” Letts said. “When we do that, we forget about all the technical things and start playing softball. That’s when we’re at our best game.”
    Letts also said in order to win these games, USU has to become a more consistent team and focus on continuing their development. She said USU has put themselves in a position for a lot of growth. She said if anyone asked the players how this year has gone so far, the general consensus among the team is that it’s been a good year, but disappointing. The team is much better than their record would let on to believe, Letts said.
    “We’re definitely a much better and stronger team than we’ve been the last two years,” she said. “We’ve put ourselves in a very good position for growth.”
    The first three of these six games will take place Friday and Saturday on the road in Reno, Nev. Utah State will then return home to face Fresno May 1-2 to finish off the season.
–la.hem@aggiemail.usu.edu