High-scoring weekend for softball outdone by higher-scoring Bulldogs
Mother Nature allowing, the Utah State softball team headed to the diamond to take on the Bulldogs of Fresno State. The weather held out but the Aggies couldn’t capitalize as they dropped all three games in the series.
This weekend’s games in Logan mark just the fourth time the Aggies have played at home all season.
The first game of Friday’s doubleheader found the Aggies struggling to put together a comeback in the seventh inning but ultimately fell 5-3 to the Bulldogs.
Fresno State tallied the first runs of the game in third inning when Bulldog pitcher Michelle Moses hit a grand slam to give Fresno State a four-run lead. The Aggies got out of the inning with no more damage but struggled to spark their offense.
Utah State got its first hit of the game two innings later when freshman Allison Lenzora singled to break up the no hitter.
The Bulldogs added one more run in the top of the sixth to bring the Fresno State lead to 5-0.
Utah State finally got some help from its offense in the seventh inning. The Aggie defense played strong in the top of the inning. Then in the bottom half, USU’s Shasta Tyteca led off with a solo home run over the left field wall.
After Tyteca’s homerun, Utah State quickly loaded the bases. Freshman Kassy Uchida hit an RBI single to left field to bring in Lenzora. Senior Joreigh Landers stepped up to the plate and hit a sacrifice fly deep into the outfield that scored Megan McDonald to bring the score to 5-3.
The Aggies rally was cut short by Moses, who pitched two consecutive strikeouts to end the game. Sophomore pitcher Mandy Harmon had seven strikeouts in four innings of work.
“We have every opportunity in the world until the last out,” Millsap-Kalaba said. “Anything’s possible and that’s the greatest thing about this sport.”
In the second game of Friday’s double header the Aggies found themselves playing catch up from the second inning when Fresno State again had a four-run inning.
The Bulldogs again scored in the fourth inning when Moses hit her second home run of the day, this time a 2-run shot. Fresno State would score once more in the top of the fifth on another home-run from Moses.
The Aggies only run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when Kelley Kaneshiro blasted a solo run home run for her ninth of the season. Utah State couldn’t use the momentum Kaneshiro provided and fell 7-1.
If Utah State struggled to get their offense going in the first two games, their defense was the problem in the third. The Aggies had six errors in the game, much higher than the one and zero error games they played on Friday.
The final game of the series found Utah State fighting to catch up after just the first inning.
The Bulldogs had a big first inning scoring seven runs in the top half of the inning. The Aggies rebounded and scored four runs in the bottom half of the first off of a single from McDonald and a Fresno State throwing error that advanced McDonald to third.
Shelby Tyteca came in after the first to pitch for the Aggies and faced the seven run deficit.
“You just have to come in with a lot of intensity and come in with the mindset that no one else is going to score,” Tyteca said .
The Aggies held strong though the second but struggled again in the third give up five runs to the bulldogs four of which came from a grand slam off the bat of Nicole Angene. The Aggies’ defensive struggles continued through the inning.
In the bottom half of the third the Aggies added one more run to bring the score to 12-5.
The USU offense was jump started in the fifth when Tina Ferguson hit a three-run homer that drilled a car on its way out of the park.
Ferguson’s 3-run shot put the Aggies at just a four run deficit heading into the sixth. Feeding off the motivation the Aggies kept fighting until the final out of the game.
“Some girls clutched up for us and did what they needed to do. Tina got her three-run shot and that was huge,” Utah State head coach Carissa Millsap-Kalaba said.
After a sixth inning in which neither team scored, both teams came out strong in the seventh. The Bulldogs added three more runs in the top of the inning. Utah State answered with four runs including a home run from Krista Bava but the Aggies were unable to overcome Fresno State’s lead and fell 16-12.
With the losses this weekend, the Aggies fall to 4-10 in Western Athletic Conference play. Utah State softball will take the field again Tuesday against the University of Utah in Logan.
– meredith.kinney@aggiemail.usu.edu