Feb. 12, 2006

Final Stats

TEMPE, Ariz. - Utah State closed out the Kajikawa Classic with a 9-0 loss in six innings to host Arizona State here on Sunday. The Aggies finished the tournament with a 1-4 record.

The loss dropped the Aggies to 1-5 on the year, while ASU improved to 7-0.

Arizona State jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. The Sun Devils continued to swing a hot bat in the second as they started off the inning with consecutive hits to load the bases. Senior Jen McCard took advantage of the situation as she cleared the bases with a grand slam to push the lead to 5-0. McCard finished the day 1-3 with four RBI.

The Aggies looked primed for a comeback in the bottom of the inning when Quela Leonhardt lead-off with a walk, and advanced to third thanks to a double by Whitnie Ray. However, with runners in scoring position and no outs, the Aggies failed to capitalize as the next three batters were set down in order by Arizona State's Ashley Werschky.

Utah State was unable to mount another scoring threat the rest of the game as Ray's double in the second was the only hit the Aggies could muster against Werschky. USU was set down in order in three of the six innings and could only manage four runners to reach base in the game.

Senior Heather Straight settled down after allowing the grand slam to McCard as she allowed only one hit over the next two innings. Arizona State then exploded off of Straight for seven hits and three runs in the sixth inning to seal the victory.

Straight took the loss as she pitched five and two-thirds innings, giving up 11 hits and nine earned runs. Werschky recorded the win as she pitched a one-hit shutout, striking out two.

Utah State will return to action on Feb. 16-18 when they travel to Las Vegas, Nev., to play in the UNLV Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. The Aggies open the tournament against UC Davis and are scheduled to play five games during the weekend.