Feb. 6, 2009

Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - The Utah State softball team dropped its first game of the season Friday morning to No. 12 Tennessee by a score of 11-3 in the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah. USU faired much better in the second game, falling to Loyola Marymount, 3-2.

Utah State is now 0-2 this young season.

In the season opener, the Lady Vols struck early with two runs in the first and second innings. The Aggies threatened in the top of the second as junior Kelly Kaneshiro led off with a single, and sophomore Megan McDonald added a bunt single. Kaneshiro advanced to third but was thrown out trying to score on a sacrifice fly.

The Aggies got on the board in the fourth when junior Simon Hubbard hit a two-out three-run homer to cut the lead to 4-3. The Lady Vols were able to add three of their own in the bottom of the fourth, then went on to post four more runs in the sixth.

Lindsey Benson took the loss for the Aggies, giving up 11 earned runs. Junior Emily Reilly led the way with two hits, while Hubbard had the only RBI for Utah State.

The Lady Vols' Ashton Ward earned her first win of the season. Ward did allow eight hits but also struck out three Aggies in the win.

In the second game, Utah State took its first lead of the season in the top of the second inning. Simone Hubbard homered for the second-straight game to give USU a 1-0 lead. Hubbard has hit more home runs in the last two games than in the previous two seasons combined. Megan McDonald made it 2-0 with her first home run of the season. The Aggies have hit three home runs in their first two games of the season.

Junior Kate Greenough made her Aggie debut after transferring from Northern Illinois. Greenough was solid except for the bottom of the third where the Lions scored all of their runs. Once again, Utah State fell victim to the long ball. In the third, J.J. Hartung singled to right center with one out. Kirsten Slouber tied the scored with a home run to left. Darcy Pagnini scored the game-winning run with a home run to left.

All five runs in the game were scored via the long ball.

The Aggies continue action at the Red Desert Classic on Saturday, Feb. 7. USU will take on Northern Colorado at 1:30 p.m. and in-state rival, Utah at 4:00 p.m.

Tennessee 11, Utah State 3 (6)Team            R   H   EUtah State      3   8   1Tennessee       14  14  0
WP: Ashton Ward (1-0)LP: Lindsey Benson (0-1)
Loyola Marymount 3, Utah State 2Team            R   H   EUtah State      2   4   0LMU         3   6   0
WP: Melissa Dykema (1-0)LP: Kate Greenough (0-1)