March 5, 2010

Box Score

FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Utah State softball kicked off the Colorado State Classic in dominating fashion, taking two games in the first day of action. The Aggies knocked off North Dakota State 11-4 and followed that up with a 10-8 victory over Utah Valley.

In game one, the Aggies got off to a quick start, scoring six runs in the third inning against North Dakota State. Utah State started the inning with two-straight walks followed by a single by junior Joreigh Landers to load the bases. Senior Emily Reilly followed up the Landers single with a walk of her own to drive in the first run of the inning.

Then the big blow came off the bat of Nicole (Rupp) Tindall who crushed a grand slam, extending the Aggie lead to five.Then two outs later red-shirt sophomore Kelley Kaneshiro got into the act with a home run of her own to extend the lead to 6-0 for Utah State. Kaneshiro now has three home runs in the Aggies first 10 games.

The Bison struck back in the fifth inning, scoring four runs to cut the Aggie lead to two. Most of the damage was done by Melissa Chmielewski, who hit a bases loaded single to left field to drive in three runs.

The Aggies answered back in the bottom of the fifth with three runs of their own to extend the lead back to 9-4. All three of the Aggie runs came with two outs as junior Megan McDonald reached on an error to extend the inning. Senior Simone Hubbard followed with a single to put runners at the corners for freshman Tina Ferguson. Ferguson came through in a big way for the Aggies with a three-run home run.

Utah State tacked on two more runs in the sixth inning as freshman Kali Cancelosi hit a home run to left field to drive in two. The long ball was the first of the season for Cancelosi. Kate Greenough was credited with the win for Utah State, while Whitney Johnson took the loss for the Bison. Greenough is now 3-1 this season.

The second game looked to be another blowout for Utah State, but Utah Valley rallied late to make it a two-run game.

Once again, the Aggies started the scoring early with five runs in the second inning. Utah State started the inning with two walks followed by a single by junior Shasta Tyteca to scored Kaneshiro. Then McDonald scored a run of her own on an error from Utah Valley. Seniors Rachel Evans, Reilly and Tindall all added RBI singles of their own to give the Aggies the 5-0 lead.

Utah Valley closed the gap in the bottom of the second with a three-run inning. Two runs came off walks from Aggie pitchers and the third off a single from Samantha Telarroja. The Wolverines then twice loaded the bases with one out, but Utah State was able to escape the inning with no more damage.

The lead was extended in the third inning when Utah State plated three more for an 8-3 lead. The runs came courtesy a McDonald RBI double, a Tyteca single and a sacrifice bunt from Evans.

Utah Valley then scored in the bottom of the third and fourth innings off an RBI single from Telarroja and a sacrifice from Amanda Perez. The runs cut the lead to 8-5.

The Aggies added some insurance scoring one run in both the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth, the run came off an RBI single from Ferguson. Then in the seventh inning Reilly added another RBI to her day with a sacrifice fly.

The Wolverines made it close in the bottom half of the seventh inning, tacking on three runs to cut the lead to 10-8. The damage all came off the bat of Maggie Christianson, who hit a three-run home run with two outs.

Mandy Harmon (3-1) got the win for Utah State with Kyli Flanary taking the loss for Utah Valley.

The Aggies are back in action tomorrow in the Colorado State Classic with a game against South Dakota State at 9:00 a.m. USU will also take on host CSU at 11:00 a.m.