Softball gets blasted in SUU tourney
Once again, the USU softball team finished a tournament with a 1-4 record at the Souther Utah University Invitational this weekend at the Karl Brooks Field in St. George.
The weather forecast was gloomy to begin with, but the Aggies weren’t quite prepared for the strike they would take at the hands of the SUU Thunderbirds.
After getting blanked 8-0 in only five innings by the Thunderbirds on Thursday, the Aggies had two more chances for redemption but failed to convert on both attempts.
Friday brought the lone win of the tournament for the Aggies and a second straight loss to SUU. The win was against Utah Valley State College, where the Aggies stole the show with a 9-3 win.
The game started out slow for the Aggies as they fell behind 3-0 early on. But a streak of hot hitting rocketed the Aggies past the Wolverines, and strong pitching by sophomore Lindsey Benson secured the fourth win of the season for the Aggies.
The power behind the win was an impressive four home runs by junior 3B Amy Schaible, senior OF Jamie Fife, sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman and freshman UT Nicole Rupp. Rupp’s home run was the first of her college career with the Aggies.
“We hit the ball well in the first game,” Head Coach Candi Letts said. “I was proud of the girls for bouncing back after being down 3-0. In the second game, we just left too many people on base, and most of the things that they got were things that we gave them.”
The second game against the Thunderbirds did not fare well for the Aggies as they dropped the game 6-2. SUU jumped out early with two runs before the Aggies responded in the bottom of the third as Schaible took first after being hit by the pitch. This brought Whitnie Ray home for the Aggies’ first score.
The Aggies scored again in the fifth inning as a double by Schaible brought Rupp home. The Aggies couldn’t score again, and the Thunderbirds walked away with the victory.
Saturday was not kind for the Aggies as they lost both games. The first loss was a close 2-1 battle with UVSC. The Wolverines started the game by scoring two runs. The Aggies scored in the top of the fourth with a home run by senior DP Jamie Fife.
In the final game against SUU, the Aggies had the chance to take the game with an early 3-0 lead. The first inning started off with a Rupp score which came off a double steal. In the next inning, senior C Jami Uragami pounded a two-run single to bring in SS Tara Evans and Stroman.
The Thunderbirds responded in the third with two runs. USU scored its final run in the third, after which SUU scored six unanswered runs.
The Aggies are now 4-10 on the year.
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu