Softball pair earns conference honors
The race for Utah State softball’s freshman wonderkid of the year, an award I just made up but that should absolutely exist, is getting ridiculous.
In the blue corner we’ve got an outfielder with one of the conference’s five best batting averages (.422), having gone 7-of-12 with two home runs and six RBIs in the past four games. California native Riley Plogger is an offensive force, rightfully honored as the Mountain West Player of the Week on Tuesday and adding some street cred to her collegiate career’s promising start.
And in the red corner, a freshman pitcher silencing bats league-wide for a 1.81 ERA and three straight wins in the past week. Kellie White has complemented Aggie veteran April Brown on the mound nicely this season, taking charge in each of her last 18 innings by allowing five earned runs on 12 hits. White is tied for fourth in the conference with 11 wins to her credit, and has slid in and out of the MW’s best ERA all season — currently, she ranks no. 2 to Boise State’s Kelsey Broadus.
Not to be outdone by Plogger’s conference accolades, White earned MW Pitcher of the Week for her recent 3-0 record against UVU and UNR.
“I’m extremely happy for and proud of both Riley and Kellie for this recognition. As freshmen, they’re the future of this program, so it’s nice to see them performing at this level early,” said Utah State head coach Steve Johnson. “Both of them have worked extremely hard this year to get where they are and it’s nice to see them recognized for all their hard work.”
The coming weekend has major implications for Utah State’s season, as three games at Boise State may well be the Aggies’ truest test of the year. The Broncos top the league’s stat books in nearly every key category, with Rebekah Cervantes and Mackenzie Sullivan ranking 1-2 in RBI’s, while boasting two of the Mountain West’s four top batters in total hits
The Aggies face off against BSU Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a game on April 1 at 4 p.m. The final contest will be a noon game on April 2.