April 27, 2007

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State softball's final homestand opened with an 11-3 loss to 14th-ranked Hawai'i on Friday at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. The loss snaps USU's six-game home winning streak and league leading Hawai'i moved within one game of clinching the Western Athletic Conference regular-season title with the win.

The two teams return to the diamond Saturday to conclude their three-game series with a doubleheader in Utah State's final home games of the season. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday is "Senior Day" at Johnson Field, as the Aggies will be honoring their six seniors: CF Ashley Bellum, P Jill Bruins, DP/1B Jamie Fife, OF Lauren Guzman, P Lexy Perry, C Jami Uragami.

USU drops to 17-29 overall and 5-8 in WAC action, while UH improves to 43-9 overall and 14-2 in WAC play. The Rainbow Wahine logged their 19th win in the last 21 games.

Hawai'i, which is making its first trip to Logan since 1996, beat Utah State for the 13th time in last 18 meetings, and the Aggies are now 17-29 all-time vs. the Rainbow Wahine.

Sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman belted her third home run of the season, and her first since Feb. 23, extending her hitting streak to five games, the longest active streak on the team.

UH's Tyleen Tausaga belted a three-run home run in the top of the first off the top of the scoreboard, part of the Rainbow Wahine's four runs in the visitor's first.

Junior 3B Amy Schaible led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. Bellum then walked. Two batters later Stroman strode to the plate and smashed a home run to right field for USU's three runs.

After Stroman's round-tripper, Hawai'i pitcher Kate Robinson retired 13 straight Aggies until Bellum singled down the third base line in the sixth. The streak appeared to be snapped in the fifth, as freshman 2B Nicole Rupp hit the ball to right, where UH's Tanisha Milca scooped and fired to Tausaga at first at Rupp dove into the bag. The first base umpire initially called her safe, but after Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen came out to voice his displeasure, all three umpires met and came to the decision that Rupp was out.

Uragami led off the seventh with a single to center, but Robinson got the final three outs to end the game.

Hawai'i scored two runs in the top of the second after Robinson helped her own cause with a two-run single to right. The Rainbow Wahine tacked on three runs in the fourth and two more in the seventh.

Utah State concludes regular-season action with a three-game WAC series with its Aggie brethren, New Mexico State, next weekend, Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, at Las Cruces, N.M.

USU will then play in the WAC Tournament May 10-13 at Fresno, Calif.