March 22, 2016 Game Notes - New Mexico 
PLAY BALL ââ'¬" Utah State softball (12-11, 0-0) begins Mountain West play this weekend with a three-game series at New Mexico (15-11, 0-0). The two teams will play single games on Thursday and Friday, March 24-25 at 6 p.m., followed by the series finale on Saturday, March 26 at Noon.
WISH YOU WERE HERE ââ'¬" Every Utah State home game, along with all Mountain West road games, will be streamed live and for free online through the Mountain West Network. The video feed of the games can be found at utahstateaggies.tv. Live stats for every Utah State game will also be available through Gametracker. Games can also be followed through the various USU social media platforms. Links to each option will be available prior to every game.
JOIN IN THE FUN ââ'¬" The University of New Mexico single-game softball tickets can be purchased on gameday, one hour prior to first pitch at the entrance of Lobo Softball Field, or in advance at The Lobo Ticket Office of WisePies Arena. All seating is general admission. Tickets are $5 per person.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO ââ'¬" New Mexico enters the first weekend of Mountain West action with a 15-11 record. The Lobos wrapped up the tournament season posting a 2-3 record at the Cal State Fullerton Easton Tournament with wins over Nebraska and DePaul. New Mexico is 3-0 at home this year, sweeping Northern Colorado.
Senior outfielder Mariah Rimmer leads New Mexico, as well as the Mountain West, at the plate, batting .461 on the year with 41 hits. She has scored a team-best 23 runs, while batting in an additional 19. Rimmer has hit a conference-leading 10 doubles this year. Defensively, redshirt senior utility player Karissa Haleman leads the Lobos with 124 putouts. New Mexico has utilized five pitchers this season, where senior Lauren Soles leads with a 3.03 ERA in 10 appearances. Combined, the Lobo pitching staff has a 3.93 ERA, allowing 235 hits and 122 runs while tallying 86 strikeouts and 52 walks.
The all-time series between Utah State and New Mexico is fairly limited, where the Lobos lead, 5-2. The first meeting between the teams occurred in 2013 and has continued each year since the Aggies joined the Mountain West. The teams also opened the 2015 conference season against each other, where the Lobos took two of the three victories.
READY FOR THE LEAGUE ââ'¬" The Mountain West debuts its 2016 competition season this weekend. Around the league, conference openers feature San José State at Colorado State, Boise State at Nevada, San Diego State at UNLV, along with USU's series at New Mexico. Dating back to the 2001 season, Utah State is 4-11 in conference openers. Last season, the Aggies also began league play against New Mexico, getting the win in the series opener before dropping the weekend's other two contests. The Aggies are 2-0 in conference openers since joining the Mountain West. In 2014, Utah State swept Colorado State in its first-ever Mountain West series.
CHASING 1996 ââ'¬" Utah State enters the Mountain West season with a 12-11 record, putting the team above .500 at this point in the year for the first time since 1996. After 25 games, that team posted a 14-11 record. The 1996 squad finished the year with a 33-24 record, going 16-9 in non-conference play.
RUNNING OVER THE OPPONENT ââ'¬" In Utah State's win over Valparaiso at the Rebel Classic, the Aggies scored 18 runs, the most USU has scored in a single game since the 1980 season. The program record for runs in a game is 24, set against the College of Eastern Utah on April 22, 1980. The Aggies followed the win over Valpo with a 16-7 win over Northern Colorado last weekend, marking the first time a USU team has scored 15 or more runs in multiple games in a season since 1980. That year, the team scored 20 and 24 runs in back-to-back wins over Eastern Utah.
STEALING AWAY ââ'¬" Just 24 games into the season, Utah State has already bested its season total of stolen bases from last season. The Aggies have successfully stolen base 26 times time year, with just one failed attempt. With those 26 steals, USU has already topped the season totals of the last five seasons and looks to better the 2010 total of 42.
TRIPLE THREAT ââ'¬" In the second game of the doubleheader against Northern Colorado, senior outfielder Sarah Chow hit three triples. The three set a new program record for triples from a single player in a game, while also matching the USU record for total triples in a game. With the three, Chow set a new season-best, having hit two triples in each of the last two seasons. She has now hit seven in her four-year career, which ties for ninth on the USU career triple list.
BRING HER HOME ââ'¬" In USU's 16-7 win over Northern Colorado, the Aggies tallied 16 RBIs. Those 16 match the school single-game RBI record which had been set twice before. The Aggies had 16 in a 2014 game against San José State, as well as against the College of Eastern Utah in 1980. In the next day's 14-4 win over the Bears, senior Noelle Johnson totaled six RBIs of her own, hitting a double and two home runs on the day. Her six also tie the program record of single-game RBIs and are the most since Tina Ferguson tallied six in a 2011 game at UNLV.
A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ââ'¬" Over last week's four games, Utah State improved its team season batting average from .296 to .312, adding 45 hits to the year's total. If the Aggies were to maintain that batting average, it would set a new program record. The 1996 Utah State team currently holds the batting average title, hitting .310 that year. Last season, USU batted .293 as a team.
LEADING THE LEAGUE ââ'¬" With high-scoring wins over Northern Colorado and Valparaiso this season, Utah State has had the best single-game performances of any team in the Mountain West in five offensive categories. The Aggies' 20 hits against the Crusaders lead the league, while the team's 29 total bases in that game, as well as in the 16-7 win over Northern Colorado are also tops. The Aggies also lead with 16 RBIs, three triples and nine walks in a game, all against the Bears. Individually, seniors Noelle Johnson and Sarah Chow had conference topping performances in that Northern Colorado game. Johnson leads with six RBIs and 10 total bases, while Chow tallied three triples in the game.
CEMENTING HER LEGACY ââ'¬" With a successful career in the circle, senior pitcher Noelle Johnson has already secured a place on seven career pitching record lists. With her fifth appearance on the mound this season in the game against Weber State, Johnson set a new program record for games played. With 32 games left on the 2016 regular season schedule, Johnson has made appearances in 133 games.
HELP IN THE CIRCLE ââ'¬" Utah State has seen an increase in depth at the pitcher position this season, as time on the mound has been split fairly evenly between three. Of those three, two are new faces in the Utah State program.
Joining the Aggies from a successful career at Des Moines Area Community College, junior pitcher April Brown has made a quick impact for Utah State in the circle. She is currently the leading Aggie pitcher with a 3.20 ERA and a 5-3 individual record. She pitched her first complete game of the season in a 6-1 win over UTEP. Brown has thrown a team-best 42 strikeouts, including a season-best eight in the team's 3-2 loss to Cal State Northridge. Freshman Katie Schroeder has pitched two complete games, posting a 4-1 record. She has 22 strikeouts on the year, including a season-best five in her first-career win against Santa Clara.
CATCHING THE HOME RUN BUG ââ'¬" In Utah State's March 5 game at UC Riverside, senior catcher Kirstyn Namba hit her first-career home run. Since then, she has hit two more, adding out-of-the-park hits in the Rebel Classic opener against DePaul and the weekend game against Santa Clara. She and junior utility player Alleyah Armendariz lead the team with their three home runs apiece this season.
SEEING DOUBLE ââ'¬" In the five games Utah State played at the Rebel Classic, the Aggie offense exploded to hit 18 doubles. Junior shortstop Sarina Jaramillo and sophomore catcher Brina Buttacavoli led the team with three each on the weekend. Both those players hit two in a single game, as Jaramillo doubled twice against Valparaiso and Buttacavoli added two in the weekend finale against Wisconsin. Junior utility player Alleyah Armendariz, junior catcher/designated player Sydney Hart, senior pitcher Noelle Johnson and senior catcher Kirstyn Namba each hit two doubles on the weekend, while senior outfielder Sarah Chow, freshman catcher Bailey Lewis, junior infielder Victoria Saucedo and freshman infielder Bailee Trapp hit one apiece.
COVERING THE COUNTRY ââ'¬" In Utah State's tournament season, the Aggies faced opponents from nine different athletic conferences. So far, USU has played teams from the ACC (Virginia), Big Ten (Indiana, Maryland, Wisconsin), Big Sky (Weber State, Southern Utah), Big West (Cal State Northridge), Conference USA (UTEP), Horizon League (Valparaiso), Pac-12 (Arizona State), Missouri Valley (Bradley), West Coast Conference (Santa Clara) and Western Athletic Conference (Grand Canyon, Utah Valley). The team still has additional matchups scheduled against WCC (BYU), Big Sky (Montana, Weber State) throughout the remainder of the season.
JUMPING RIGHT IN ââ'¬" There are 11 new faces on the Utah State roster this season, many of whom have already made an impact on the field. Transfers Sarina Jaramillo is one of three Aggies to have started all 23 games this season, while Kylie-Rose Dickson has started 21 and played in every game. In the circle, junior April Brown has pitched in 11 games, making nine starts and posting a team-best 5-3 record. Junior outfielder Amanda Sheets, freshmen catcher Bailey Lewis, infielder Bailee Trapp, outfielder Mia Maher and pitcher Katie Schroeder have also seen time in multiple games.
AN EARLY PREDICTION ââ'¬" In the Preseason Mountain West poll, voted on by the league's eight coaches, Utah State has been picked to finish the 2016 season sixth in the conference. Defending champion Fresno State was selected to finish first, followed by San Diego State.
THE LAST TIME OUT ââ'¬" Utah State posted a 3-1 record last weekend as it posted a 5-2 road win at Utah Valley and then won two of three home games against Northern Colorado as it dropped the opener, 9-8 (8), before winning the final two games by scores of 16-7 (6) and 14-4 (5). Four USU pitchers appeared in the circle over the weekend, compiling a combined earned run average of 4.04. Junior April Brown and freshman Katie Schroeder both went 1-0 on the weekend, while senior Noelle Johnson posted a 1-1 record. Brown led the group with a 3.11 ERA, while the four combined to allow 35 hits and 22 runs, while striking out 21 batters and walking 10. At the plate, senior outfielder Sarah Chow led the Aggies, batting .714 on the weekend. She tallied a team-best 10 hits and eight runs, while batting in four additional runs. Armendariz started all four games at first base, totaling a team-best 20 putouts on the week.
UP NEXT ââ'¬" Utah State will host its first Mountain West series of the 2016 season against Colorado State on Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30. The Aggies and Rams will play a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m., with the series wrapping up in a 1 p.m. game the following day. That weekend, the Aggies will play a three-game series at UNLV with games each day Friday, April 1 through Sunday, April 3.
