Box Score

BOISE, Idaho -

Utah State 4, Boise State 1

Utah State softball opened its weekend in the win column Friday, as the Aggies topped Boise State, 4-1, on the road.

Freshman outfielder Riley Plogger led the Aggies at the plate, where she was 3-for-4 on the day, including a home run. Senior first baseman Paxton Provost had three of the team's four RBIs on the day, as she also had an out-of-the-park hit. Provost was tops defensively with 10 putouts. Freshman Kellie White pitched her 11th complete game of the year, tallying four strikeouts and two walks to improve to 12-2 overall.

"This was a good start to the weekend. Kellie threw really well and kept the Boise hitters off-balance all day. She worked herself out of a couple of jams our defense created, and really showed a lot of poise," said Utah State head coach Steve Johnson. "Offensively, we did enough to win, but we have to learn from our at-bats today and get better throughout the weekend."

With the win, Utah State improves to 22-7 overall, with a 5-2 Mountain West record. Boise State falls to 21-10 on the year and 3-4 in league play with the loss.

After two empty innings, Utah State was first on the board in the top of the third. Back to the top of the order, junior third baseman Amee Aarhus opened the inning getting hit by a pitch. She advanced to second on a sac bunt from junior outfielder Jazmin Clarke, then to third on a fly ball to right field. Provost then drove a ball to right field, where it bounced out of the fielder's glove on a diving catch, bringing Aarhus home.

The Aggies' 1-0 lead held through the next two innings. Utah State put up four hits against the Broncos, but were never able to capitalize on the on-base opportunities. That came to an end in the top of the sixth, when Plogger led-off the inning with a home run over the center field fence, extending Utah State's lead.

With two outs in the top of the seventh, Provost worked to a 3-1 count before adding another home run to Utah State's day. Hitting the ball over the right center fence, Provost brought Clarke home as well, who had picked up her first hit of the day earlier in the inning. The Aggies got one more hit in the inning, but the top half came to an end on a strikeout after a Boise State pitching change.

Boise State had its best opportunities in the bottom of the seventh. After opening with a single, a pair of fielder's choice plays kept runners on first. Another single followed, but runners advanced on a muffed throw from second base. One final hit drove a run in for the Broncos, evading the shutout. Clarke made the final play in center field though, ending the game.

Both defenses played well throughout the game, making several key plays. For the Aggies, Clarke made a running catch deep in center field, colliding with the fence, but making the out. Utah State retired the Broncos in order once, doing so in the bottom of the sixth. Boise State turned two double plays on the day, while also snapping Maher's perfect stolen base streak, catching her at second.

Utah State finished the game with 13 hits, while Boise State tallied six. The Aggies had three errors on the day, to the Broncos' one.

Action from Boise will continue in a 4 p.m. game on Saturday, April 1. The series will wrap-up on Sunday, April 2, in a Noon match-up.

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.