Softball seeks first win of year in Vegas
Looking for its first win of the season, the Utah State softball team travels to Las Vegas to play in a three-game, mini-tournament Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
USU will start off with back-to-back games, first against New Mexico State University Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a 6:30 game against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Play will conclude Saturday when the Aggies square off against the University of Nevada-Reno at 1:30 p.m.
Going into the tournament, USU is focusing almost completely on their its game against New Mexico State, said Head Coach Debbie Bilbao. The Aggies played NMSU in the season opener last year and lost 8-2.
“We can accomplish a lot this weekend and that’s kind of what we’re going into — thinking about New Mexico State and going into them,” she said.
New Mexico State, 2-19 this season, is currently rebuilding its program and consequently has a younger team, similar to USU, Bilbao said. It is a scrappy team with a high ERA, she said, which should give USU an advantage.
A win in their first game would give the Aggies, 0-8 this year, confidence for the remaining two games against 8-11 UNLV and 8-8 Nevada. But for USU, winning isn’t everything, said first baseman Kelly Leos.
“It’s always good to win, but as long as we get better and do the things we need to be doing, we’ll be fine,” she said.
The Aggies’ 0-8 record is not a good indicator of where they are at right now, Bilbao said. So far, they have been doing great in practices and games, but just haven’t had much luck, she said.
But despite doing well in practice, getting some wins would be great for the team’s confidence, she said.
“They’re not content with being average,” Bilbao said. “They’re not content with the situation of things, and that says a lot about their character and athletic ability.”
With players like Leos, Quela Henderson and Stephanie Vasarhely, Bilbao said the Aggies are right on the verge of breaking loose, and when they do they’re going to be hard to stop.
To break loose, Utah State will have to overcome its 12-20 records against both New Mexico and UNLV. Against Nevada, the Aggies have history on their side with an 11-2 record.
–csmo@cc.usu.edu