Utah State softball goes 1-4 to start season
Utah State softball opened its season this weekend at the Titan Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies took on five different teams during the tournament.
It lost its first game of the season Friday, 3-1 to the Pacific Tigers behind some early struggles. The Aggies let up three runs in the third inning, while not recording the first hit of its season until the fourth. Senior outfielder Riley Plogger scored the lone run for Utah State in the fourth inning after having picked up the first Aggie hit of the year. Redshirt senior pitcher Alissa Noble made her first appearance with Utah State in her first complete game of her career as well.
The Aggies dropped their second game of the day to Middle Tennessee 9-4 after the Blue Raiders broke a 4-4 tie in the seventh inning, scoring five straight runs to take the victory. Utah State scored first after loading the bases in the first inning off three straight walks, but were not able to bring in all the baserunners. Freshman first baseman Makenzie Macfarlane batted in two runs, while junior pitcher Delaney Hull pitched six solid innings before coming out after one batter in the seventh inning.
Utah State got its first win of the season Saturday over Loyola Maramount, 7-4. The Aggies scored all seven runs in the fifth inning, each by different players. Macfarlane led Utah State with two hits, while Noble pitched a complete game with five strikeouts in her first win of the season. Each team finished with five hits and two errors.
In the game against Cal State Fullerton, the Aggies saw its first batter in every inning of the next game reach base, but were unable to put anything on the scoreboard until the fifth. With Utah State down 6-1 at the start of the seventh inning, the Aggies loaded the bases; freshman catcher Gabriella Jimenez drove in a single run, but Utah State couldn’t capitalize on the other baserunners and dropped the game 6-2.
In its final game of the tournament, Utah State went down early 3-0 to UC Riverside, but a strong third inning saw the Aggies tie the game at three after sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco drove in a run and Plogger hit the team’s first home run of the season. UC Riverside used a seven run sixth inning to pull ahead and defeat Utah State 11-5.
The Aggies finished the Titan Classic 1-4 and travel to the Golden State Classic in Lake Elsinore, California this weekend. They play Hawai’i and Portland State Friday, San Diego and UC Davis Saturday, then Seton Hall Sunday.