Late game heroics propels Aggies in doubleheader sweep versus Nevada
Utah State’s softball team emerged victorious in two games against the Nevada Wolfpack on Wednesday. USU won the first game 6-5 and the second game 5-4 to improve to 21-16 on the season and 5-6 against Mountain West Conference opponents.
Nevada jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning of the first contest as catcher Aaliyah Jenkins slugged a two-run home run off Aggie pitcher Denay Smith. But Utah State would waste no time responding to the Wolfpack lead.
Junior shortstop Ariel Fifita hit a leadoff home run for the Aggies in the bottom of the first inning before junior first baseman Giselle Gonzalez added two more runs on the board with a bases-loaded single that forced Nevada to make a pitching change before BYU transfer Carley Brown could record a single out. The Aggies reclaimed a 3-2 lead.
Nevada answered in the top of the third after solo home runs from Gabby Herrera and Taryn Jenkins gave the Wolfpack a 4-3 lead. Utah State tied the game in the fifth inning before Nevada retook the lead on an error by Aggie center fielder Tatum Silva in the sixth.
Down to their last six outs, sophomore outfielder Jaden Colunga launched a solo homer to tie the game. The teams needed extra innings to settle the game, but Gonzalez came through with another bases-loaded RBI single to win the game 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth.
In the second game of the day, the Aggies were able to jump out to an early lead after a scoreless first inning from graduate pitcher Katie Zuniga and a single from sophomore catcher Grace Matej that scored Fifita and gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Utah State continued their first-inning rally before Nevada’s Herrera threw out Matej at home plate to end the threat.
Zuniga continued her work in the circle in the second inning, stranding a runner on second base after forcing a lineout to left field and a flyout to right field.
The third inning was not as comfortable for Zuniga as she gave up two singles to start the inning before facing Jenkins with nobody out. Jenkins hit a ball that looked like it would leave the yard and put the Wolfpack on the board, but center fielder Silva leaped at the wall to rob Jenkins of a three-run home run and redeem herself of the error she made in the first game.
Zuniga was not able to get out of trouble unscathed, as Nevada’s next two hitters barreled singles that scored two runs to give the Wolfpack a 2-1 lead.
Nevada scraped one more run across the board off Zuniga in the top of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 3-1. Junior second baseman Claudia Medina looked to set up another late-inning rally for the Aggies with a leadoff double into right centerfield. Sophomore right fielder Kya Pratt had not hit a home run all season but followed Medina by clobbering a pitch over the centerfield wall to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth.
After throwing four innings without giving up an earned run and striking out six batters in the first game, head coach Todd Judge decided to bring senior pitcher Jessica Stewart in again to try and prevent Nevada from scoring again. Stewart allowed a leadoff walk but was able to bounce back by striking out two Wolfpack hitters to end the inning.
Gonzalez led off the bottom of the sixth for the Aggies with a single before Colunga stepped up to the plate, looking to give Utah State the lead. Colunga showcased her power again, hitting her third home run of the season and second of the day to break the tie and give the Aggies a 5-3 lead.
Stewart struck out the first two Nevada batters she faced in the seventh inning before giving up a solo home run to bring the Wolfpack back within one run. That would be all Stewart surrendered after getting Jenkins to line out to first base to end the game. Stewart ended up throwing six innings across both games played, allowing one earned run and striking out ten batters.
Despite giving up the home run at the end of the game, Stewart did not get rattled as she faced the final batter of the game.
“ I think at the end of the day, the key is just having confidence throughout the entire game,” Stewart said. “This game is a game of failure, and that’s kind of the blessing within the game. The only thing you can do is just work harder for the next opportunity and just go out there, clear your mind and just produce with that next pitch.”
Stewart has been key for the Aggies at the end of games all season, showing the trust she has from her head coach.
“I feel more comfortable in the sixth with Jessica out there than anybody,” Judge said. “I think she’s got to have eight or nine saves right now in the year. I don’t know where that ranks the NCAA, but I would imagine it’s pretty high up there.”
Stewart was not credited with a save in either game because she entered when the Aggies were either losing or tied in each contest, but her five saves are tied for fourth most of anyone in the country.
Stewart’s combination of high velocity on her pitches and fiery emotion in the circle makes her a formidable challenge for opposing hitters.
“She’s got a lot of fire out there, and that’s what you want at the end of the game,” Judge said. “I mean, if you’re going to lose you want to go down with somebody who’s not afraid, that’s going to go ahead and give it their best.”
The two wins Utah State registered on Wednesday against the No. 1 Wolfpack could end up being difference-makers in the standings at the end of the season. After the doubleheader sweep, the Aggies climbed into sixth place in the Mountain West. The top six teams advance to the conference tournament, where teams compete for a conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
“We’ve had the goal the entire year, you know, to make the Mountain West tournament and to win it,” Judge said. “These are huge games for us to get our confidence back of what we can do and show them how good they can play when they really buy into the whole process of what we’re trying to teach.”
The Aggies continue their pursuit of a conference tournament bid against Fresno State on the road on April 6-7 before returning home for three games against Colorado State on April 12-14.