LOGAN, Utah - Utah State softball (5-6) continues its preseason tournament schedule this weekend at the Highlander Classic, hosted by UC Riverside. The Aggies open tournament play on Saturday, March 5 against UC Riverside (12-6) at 10 a.m. (MT), followed by a 3 p.m. matchup against Santa Clara (4-10).

Tournament play will continue on Sunday, March 6 with a 10 a.m. game against Santa Clara and final contest against the Highlanders at 12:30 p.m.

Tickets for the Highlander Classic are available now through the UC Riverside ticket office or at the gate on gameday. All tournament games will be played at Amy S. Harrison Field on the campus of UC Riverside. For fans not in attendance, live stats will be provided online. Links for each game will be posted at utahstateaggies.com and on the USU softball social media pages.

The host team of the weekend, UC Riverside stands at 12-6 on the year. Like the Aggies, the Highlanders also opened the season at the Kajikawa Classic, going 2-3 on the weekend. UC Riverside has also hosted three non-conference head-to-head games, as well as the Amy S. Harrison Classic last week. The team also played in the Fresno State Kick-Off.

Junior outfielder Madeline Richard leads the Highlanders at the plate, batting .500 on the season. She has a team-best 28 hits and leads with 19 runs. Senior catcher Natalie Sanchez is tops defensively, with 82 putouts on the year. The Highlanders have utilized three pitchers so far this season. Sophomore Tayler Misfeldt leads the team with a 4.43 ERA, posting an 8-4 record. Combined, the three have allowed 115 hits and 79 runs while striking out 78 batters and walking another 83.

Linda Garza is in her fourth season as the head coach of the UC Riverside program. All-time, Utah State is 9-12 against UC Riverside. The teams played twice last season as the Aggies played in the Amy S. Harrison Classic. Both games went into extra innings, but the Highlanders claimed both victories.

Santa Clara enters the weekend with a 4-10 record. The Broncos opened the season at the UC Davis-hosted Aggie Classic before hosting back-to-back tournaments to close out the month of February. Over the first month, the Broncos posted wins over Sacramento State (1-0), Idaho State (13-7), Connecticut (3-0) and Illinois-Chicago (4-3).

Senior infielder Cassandra Padilla is the top hitter for Santa Clara, batting .333 on the year. She has a team-high 15 hits in 45 at-bats and is one of three players to score six runs on the season. She is also the team's RBI leader with eight. Freshman catcher Kelsie Barnard and junior infielder Geenamarie Bonilla are tops defensively with 38 putouts apiece. Three Bronco pitchers have seen time on the mound this season, led by sophomore Micaela Vierra. She has a 3-6 record on the year, posting a 2.59 ERA. Combined, the pitching staff has allowed 134 hits and 76 runs, striking out 36 batters and walking 39.

Lisa Mize is in her eighth season as the Santa Clara head coach. The Aggies and Broncos have battled three times, with Utah State picking up all three wins. The teams met once last season, an 8-1 victory for Utah State at the San Diego Classic II. Utah State and Santa Clara will also play each other next weekend at the Rebel Classic at UNLV.

For Utah State, senior outfielder Sarah Chow leads the team at the plate, batting .412 on the year with 14 hits and four runs scored. Junior third baseman Victoria Saucedo is the team's RBI leader with seven. Defensively, senior first baseman Libby Pederson is tops with 40 putouts. While five pitchers have seen time in the circle, junior April Brown leads the group with a 2.83 ERA and a 3-1 record, while recording a team-high 24 strikeouts.

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.