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Northern Colorado 9, Utah State 8 (8)

Utah State 16, Northern Colorado (6)

In a pair of games with abnormal innings, Utah State softball split its first home games of the season Saturday against Northern Colorado with a 9-8, eight-inning loss and a 16-7, six-inning win.

Senior Noelle Johnson made the first start of the day, allowing 12 hits and striking out eight batters in her seven innings. As the game headed to extra time, freshman Katie Schroeder relieved Johnson for the final three outs. In the second game, junior April Brown pitched the full game, allowing seven hits while tallying six strikeouts.

Between the two games, the Aggie offense tallied 24 runs on 23 hits, batting .377 on the day. USU hit three doubles, three triples and five home runs. Senior outfielder Sarah Chow led the offense with a perfect batting average and on-base percentage, going 6-for-6 at the plate while drawing two walks and getting hit by a pitch. In the second game, Chow hit three triples, topping her season-high of the last three seasons. On the day, Utah State successfully stole nine bases, bringing the season total to 25, already passing the total from last season.

"We did a lot of good things in the first game, it's a frustrating loss. It was just some things consistency-wise that we've been dealing with all year. We kept scoring, but we need to be better both defensively and in the circle in that situation and shut it down," said USU head coach Steve Johnson. "It was a good bounceback. We came back with a great attitude and attacked early and scored in every inning. I'm really proud of their effort in that second game."

With the split, Utah State goes to 11-11 on the year, while Northern Colorado moves to 4-17.

Neither team wasted time scoring Saturday, as the Bears opened the first game with two quick runs. The Aggies answered with three runs in the bottom of the inning, taking their first lead of the day. Chow was first to score on a single from junior first baseman Alleyah Armendariz. Johnson followed with a double down the left field line, scoring Armendariz and junior shortstop Sarina Jaramillo.

Utah State extended its lead in the second, as sophomore catcher Brina Buttacavoli led-off with a home run to center field. The Bears scored the sole runs of the third inning, adding two on RBI singles. The Aggies maintained their lead though, as sophomore outfielder Jazmin Clarke scored when Jaramillo grounded out.

Northern Colorado found its first lead of the day in the top of the fifth with a two-run home run. The Aggies were back on top in the bottom of the inning though, when junior third baseman Victoria Saucedo also hit a two-run homer, bringing Johnson in from first.

The Bears added another home run in the top of the seventh, evening the score. When the Aggies were retired in order in the bottom of the inning, the teams went to an extra inning. Northern Colorado took the lead again in the top of the eighth, scoring two runs on a single up the middle. Utah State picked up one last run in the bottom of the inning, but couldn't catch the Bears, ending the game.

Despite finishing on the wrong end of the scoreboard in the first game, Utah State bounced right back, opening the second game with eight runs in the bottom of the first inning. In the first at-bat of the game, senior catcher Kirstyn Namba led-off with a home run to right field. With the bases loaded, Jaramillo grounded out to third, pushing Chow across the plate. Freshman designated player Bailey Lewis followed with a single, bringing Armendariz home. Saucedo then added her second two-run home run of the day, while Clarke and junior second baseman Kylie-Rose Dickson scored on a double from Namba. Chow then hit her first triple of the day, scoring Namba.

The Aggies added two more runs in the bottom of the second. Dickson hit a double, but was putout on an attempt to stretch it to three bases. In the process, Saucedo and Armendariz both scored. Northern Colorado picked up its first runs of the game in the top of the third. With batters on with a single and a USU error, the two scored on a fly out and another single. Utah State struck again in the bottom of the inning. With the bases loaded, Armendariz reached first on a fielder's choice, bringing Clarke home.

The Aggies kept their trend of scoring in every inning in the fourth, when freshman Mia Maher, in as a pinch runner, scored when senior Libby Pederson grounded out. The fifth inning was the saving grace for the Bears, who added four runs to stay in the game. After an error pushed one runner home, Northern Colorado followed with a three-run home run. USU added another run to its total in the bottom of the inning when Chow scored on another fielder's choice from Armendariz.

The teams headed to the sixth inning, where the Bears found one last run. However, Utah State added two more in the bottom of the inning, reaching an eight-run advantage and securing the win. Namba was first on base with a walk, scoring on Chow's third triple. Johnson followed with a home run, ending the game in USU's favor.

The Aggies and Bears will wrap-up the three-game series on Sunday, March 20 in a Noon game.

Fans can follow the Aggie softball program on Twitter, @USUSoftball, on Facebook at /USUSoftball or on Instagram, @ususoftball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.