March 18, 2006

Final Stats

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Utah State's softball team was unable to plate a run on the second day of the Capital classic as it dropped games against Minnesota 1-0 and Wisconsin 7-0 here on Saturday. The losses drop the Aggies record to 4-17 overall and 1-2 in the tournament.

In the early game, Utah State's Lindsey Benson and Minnesota's Katie Dalen were involved in a pitching dual as they combined to allow only four hits in the game.

Aubrie Stroman started an early Utah State rally as she led-off the second inning with the only Aggie hit of the game off Dalen. Ashley Bellum would walk two batters later, and Stroman and Bellum would advance to second and third thanks to a wild pitch. However, Utah State would fail to produce a run as the Aggies left two runners in scoring position to end the inning.

In the bottom of the inning Minnesota would start a rally of its own as Lisa Parks walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Shannon Stemper would come through with an RBI single as the Gophers took a 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish.

The Aggies failed to muster a rally as Jeanine Hernandez was the only other Utah State batter to reach base the rest of the game when she was hit by a pitch in the sixth.

Benson pitched a three-hit complete game as she struck out four and allowed only one earned run, but took the loss, dropping her record to 0-4.

In the second game, the Aggies and Badgers went scoreless through three innings as Utah State's Jessica Garnett looked solid. However, Garnett was hurt by four Aggie errors as Wisconsin went on to score two runs in the fourth and added five more over the next two innings. Of the seven runs scored by the Badgers, only three of them were earned.

The Aggies were able to produce five hits against the Gopher pitching staff, but could not string together a rally as they failed to put a run on the board. Five different Aggies recorded hits in the game, including a double by Jessica Garnett, and singles by Amy Schaible, Quela Leonhardt, Jamie Fife and Bellum.

Garnett took the loss (0-5) as she went four and one-third innings, allowing three earned runs and striking out one.

Utah State will return to action Sunday mourning at 10 a.m. as the Aggies wrap-up the Capital Classic against host Sacramento State.