April 25, 2001
LOGAN, Utah - Behind two homeruns by junior Breanne Nickle the Utah State softball team snapped up two victories from in-state foe Southern Utah Wednesday at the LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. The Aggies held off SUU by a score of 3-2 in the first game and then came back from a four run deficit to defeat the Thundersbirds 9-4 in the second game.
"It was a complete team effort," said USU head coach Pam McCreesh. "Everything came today, offense, defense, and pitching. They (SUU) are a good ball club but we played really good ball today."
Catcher Breanne Nickle shined offensively for the Aggies belting two homeruns and a double while going 3-for-7 at the plate with six RBI's and three runs scored over the two game stretch. Nickle's two-run bomb in the bottom of the sixth was the game-winner for the Aggies as USU was down 2-1 before Nickle stepped to the plate.
"I couldn't be more proud of Breanne," said McCreesh. "It's rewarding to see the hard work pay off and I'm really happy for her."
Sophomore pitcher Xochitl Ramirez recorded her third win of the season and her second win in a row in USU's first game. Ramirez allowed just seven hits and struckout two batters in her complete game performance.
Nickle was again the spark for the Aggie squad in the second game of the afternoon. With the Ags down 4-1 Nickle blasted a 3 RBI shot over the right center wall to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The game remained tied for two and a half innings before the Aggies came alive in the sixth scoring five runs and putting the game out of reach for the Thunderbirds. Heather Curtis brought in the Aggies first run singling to right center. Danielle Rodriguez then came to the plate and smacked a two RBI single to right field to drive in Heather Curtis and Marnie Andrews. Nickle then hit a double to left to bring Rodriguez across then plate, and Stephanie Vasarhely drove in the Aggies final run with a triple to leftfield.
Other Aggie highlights included DP Amanda Carlson going 4-for-6 on the day, Shannon Acevedo hitting 4-of-7, and Rodriguez going a team-best 3-for-4 with two runs and 2 RBI's in the final game.
The two wins improve USU's record to 9-35 on the year while Southern Utah fell to 23-33 overall. the Aggies will be back in action this weekend when they host UC Santa Barbara in their final home games of the 2001 season. USU and UCSB will play a double-header Saturday at 1 p.m. and then return for a single-game Sunday at 1 p.m.
UTAH STATE 3, SOUTHERN UTAH 2SUU - 000 002 0 - 2 7 2USU - 001 002 X - 3 7 0WP - Xochitl Ramirez, USU, LP - Mandy Flint, SUU, HR - Breanne Nickle, USU, 2B - Shannon Acevedo, USU, Anna Leeman, SUU.
UTAH STATE 9, SOUTHERN UTAH 4SUU - 013 000 0 - 4 7 5USU - 004 005 X - 9 13 3WP - Lisa Spencer, USU, LP - Lori Shepard, SUU, HR - Breanne Nickle, USU, 3B - Stephanie Vasarhely, USU, 2B - Breanne Nickle, USU, Anna Leeman, SUU.
