USU softball can’t overcome early deficit against Colorado State

Utah State (21-20, 5-9) dropped the opening game of a three-game weekend series against Colorado State (21-15, 4-7) on Friday afternoon by a score of 5-4.  

Sophomore pitcher Denay Smith started the game in the circle for the Aggies and quickly found herself in trouble. Smith threw four straight balls to the Rams’ leadoff hitter before giving up another single to put runners on first and second base with nobody out. After forcing a fly out to center field for the first out of the game, Colorado first baseman Danielle Serna served a flyball to senior outfielder Ali Ashner. Ashner caught the pop-up and fired to third base to try and throw out the advancing runner. Although she was unable to cut down the runner at third, sophomore third baseman Alex Bunton was able to throw out the trailing runner as she tried to advance to second base to end the top of the first inning.  

The Aggies’ first opportunity of the day to score came in the bottom of the second inning. Bunton led off the inning with a single before advancing to second base later in the frame. Sophomore designated hitter Jaden Colunga was able to work a two-out walk to extend the inning, but a weak lineout from junior second baseman Claudia Medina would strand Bunton at second base.  

Colorado State took that momentum with them to the plate in the top of the third inning. The Rams quickly found themselves with a few more runners in scoring position and hoped to capitalize on an error from Aggie left fielder Kya Pratt. With runners on second and third base, graduate student Peyton Allen clubbed one of Smith’s pitches to deep left field. The ball glanced off Pratt’s glove as she crashed against the wall, allowing Allen to race around the bases to complete a three-run inside-the-park home run to give the Rams a 3-0 lead. Smith was not able to limit the damage in the half-inning, allowing two more runs before head coach Todd Judge replaced her in the circle with graduate student Katie Zuniga.  

Zuniga got two more outs to send the Aggies back up to the plate. As the lineup turned over, Utah State was able to add to the scoreboard. Junior shortstop Ariel Fifita, freshman center fielder Tatum Silva, and sophomore catcher Grace Matej all punched one-out singles to load the bases for Bunton in the bottom of the third. Bunton flew out to right field for the second out, but junior first baseman Giselle Gonzalez put the Aggies on the board with a two-run single. After another RBI single from Ashner, Utah State would go into the top of the fourth down 5-3.  

Colorado State looked primed to add to its lead after getting runners to second and third base to lead off the inning. Zuniga doubled down in the circle for the Aggies, forcing a weak groundout to third base and a strikeout to Serna before Pratt tracked down a flyball in the left-centerfield gap to end the threat in the top of the fourth.  

Zuniga added scoreless frames in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to complete a scoreless outing in relief of Smith. The Utah Valley transfer completed 4.2 innings, giving up just four hits and one walk to lower her ERA to 3.07 on the year.  

Medina would add another run to the board with a solo home run for USU in the bottom of the sixth, but the Aggies were never able to tie the game despite having the potential tying run at second base. Matej, who was tied for first on the team in runs batted going into the game, lined out weakly to shortstop to strand the runner.  

Following Friday’s loss, Utah State has lost four games in a row to Fresno State, Southern Utah, and now Colorado State after sweeping a home double-header against Nevada. The cold spell could not come at a worse time for the Aggies, because the series against the Rams could hold significant postseason implications.  

Utah State entered the day in sixth place in the Mountain West and held the final spot in the Mountain West Tournament with Colorado State trailing just behind in seventh. The Rams’ victory on Friday allowed them to at least temporarily jump the Aggies in the standings with two games left in the series to be played on Saturday and Sunday. Both games start at 12 p.m. and will be played at LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field in Logan.