USU Softball squad snaps losing streak at 10 games
The Utah State women’s softball team picked up its first home win of the season, defeating Sacramento State 9-8 Friday afternoon.
The Aggies, however, could not manage to win the series against the Hornets, as they lost two of three games this weekend. USU’s record stands at 6-31 overall, 2-10 in Big West Conference action.
The Aggies are improving during league games. Their batting average has increased to .213, compared to .175 in non-conference play.
Sacramento State 9, USU 0
In the first game of a double-header Friday, pitcher Kristin Hommel gave up five runs in the first inning. The Hornets continued to dominate the game, recording four runs on five hits in the fourth inning.
One of Sacramento State’s runs came by way of an Aggie error, when catcher Breanne Nickle missed a throw to home plate and failed to tag the runner out.
Head coach Pam McCreesh said she’s not too concerned about Hommel’s performance.
“[Hommel] will have a good day, and then she’ll have a bad day,” McCreesh said. “It’s just a matter of consistency. She’s a tough kid, and she’ll be back.”
Hommel, incidentally, has recorded the seventh-most strikeouts in USU history at 182.
USU 9, Sacramento State 8
The Aggies scored first in the second game when freshman Shannon Acevedo had a base hit and Nickle brought Acevedo home. The Hornets quickly answered back, bringing four runners in on three hits and one Aggie error.
USU rallied back. On a 2-2 pitch with two outs, Jenn Hopkins brought two runners home, followed by a base hit by Heather Curtis to bring one more Aggie home.
With the score tied at four runs apiece, Casey Smith’s triple sent one more runner home to give the Aggies a 5-4 lead. A two-run home run by the Hornets put Sacramento State back ahead.
But by the bottom of the fifth inning, the Aggies scored four more runs, extending the lead to 9-6, thanks to Nickle’s double and first baseman Kara Tarbet stealing second base to put two runners in scoring position.
Although the Hornets scored two more runs, the Aggies held on to win 9-8. The win gave Aggie pitcher Xochitl Ramirez her first victory of the season. She said she is feeling more comfortable pitching.
“I’m way more confident,” Ramirez said. “I used to have doubts, but me and the rest of the pitching staff have talked about what we need to do.”
Sacramento State 1, USU 0
Ramirez pitched another complete game Saturday afternoon, but the Aggies lost 1-0.
The Hornets’ only run came in the fourth inning. On a 2-2 pitch count with two outs, Veronica Rodrigues singled to centerfield to bring home Lori Meixner.
The Aggies were in position to score at the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Tarbet singled to center field. A sacrifice bunt by Marnie Andrews advanced Tarbet to second base.
Curtis singled to right field as Tarbet rounded the bases from second to home, but was tagged out at the plate.
The play did not leave any Aggies in scoring position, and Danielle Rodriguez grounded out to end the game.
McCreesh said she felt she needed to take the chance and try to bring Tarbet home in the final inning.
“It felt like we were leaving people on base when we had opportunities,” McCreesh said. “So I took the chance and obviously it didn’t pay off.”
Up next for the Aggies is a two-game series against Brigham Young University Wednesday. USU has lost to BYU twice this season.
McCreesh said the team is looking forward to facing the Cougars.
“We went down there and pretty much were embarrassed,” McCreesh said. “So we have a little bit of pride to win back.”
The doubleheader begins at 2 p.m. at Johnson Field.