LOGAN, Utah – Utah State softball (1-4) continues its preseason tournament schedule this weekend at the Littlewood Classic, hosted by Arizona State. The Aggies will open the tournament on Friday, Feb. 15 at 9 a.m., against Central Michigan (1-4), followed by a 4:30 p.m. game against San Diego (2-4).
The weekend will continue on Saturday, Feb. 16, when USU takes on No. 4 Florida (5-0) at 4:30 p.m., and Illinois State (0-5) at 7 p.m. The tournament finale is set for Sunday, Feb. 17, when Utah State plays No. 14 Arizona State (4-1) at 1:30 p.m.
The Littlewood Classic is the second of four tournaments hosted by Arizona State this season. The Sun Devils welcome the five teams to Tempe for 15 games over the weekend. Tickets to the Littlewood Classic can be purchased online at thesundevils.com or on gameday at the ASU ticket office. Single-day tickets, good for all tournament games, are $20 on Friday and Saturday, and $15 on Sunday. A full tournament pass can be purchased for $50. Live stats and limited social media coverage will also be available for each game of the Littlewood Classic. Utah State's game against Arizona State will be streamed through ASU Live Stream. A free online radio broadcast will be available for the game against Florida.
Central Michigan posted a 1-4 record in its opening weekend, earning its sole win against Pitt, 11-6. As a team, CMU is batting .244 (29-of-121), led by sophomore utility player Shaidan Knapp who went 6-for-16 (.375) in the first tournament of the year. The Chippewas have utilized four pitchers thus far, combining for a 6.69 ERA and allowing 40 hits and 29 earned runs. Central Michigan returned six starters to the lineup this season, while adding five newcomers. Margo Jonker is in her 40th season as the head coach at CMU, where she has an all-time record of 1,247-784-6. Utah State and Central Michigan have met just once in the past, with the Chippewas taking a 5-3 win in 1988.
San Diego makes the trip to Arizona with a 2-4 record, posting wins over Portland State (3-2) and UC Riverside (6-3) in its home tournament last weekend. The Toreros are batting .263 (41-of-156), with senior outfielder Taylor Spence and junior infielder Lindsay Clare batting a team-best .400 (8-of-20). Sophomore Halle Kyler leads the USD pitching staff with a 2.74 ERA, while the four pitchers combined have allowed 50 hits and 23 earned runs. Melissa McElvain is in her 18th season at the helm of the Torero program, where she has an overall record of 363-480. The Aggies earned their first-ever win over San Diego in 2017, but the Toreros lead the series, 6-1.
Fourth-ranked Florida enters the weekend with a 5-0 record, sweeping its competition at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational. Junior outfielder Jaimie Hoover leads the Gator offense as she it batting .400 (6-of-15), while the team as a whole is hitting .325 (51-of-157). Led by senior ace Kelly Barnhill, the Florida pitching staff has a 1.12 ERA, allowing 15 hits and five earned runs. Tim Walton is in his 14th season as the head coach at Florida, where he has an overall record of 727-149. Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between Utah State and Florida. With the Gators' No. 4 ranking, this will be the highest-ranked opponent the Aggies have faced since 2011, when they took on No. 4 Hawai'i.
Illinois State also opened its season at the USF Opening Weekend Invitational, going 0-5 in the tournament against four top-25 teams. As a team, the Redbirds are batting .147 (16-of-109), led by sophomore third baseman Andrea Coursey who went 5-for-12 (.417) in the first games of the season. Four pitchers have seen time in the circle for Illinois State, posting a combined ERA of 8.25 and allowing 57 hits and 33 earned runs. Melinda Fischer is in her 34th season as the head coach at ISU, where she has an all-time record of 1,033-766-4. The Redbirds lead the series against Utah State, 5-3, but the teams have not met since 2004.
No. 14 Arizona State welcomes the four Littlewood Classic teams to town with a 4-1 record. The Sun Devils batted .395 (47-of-119) in their opening weekend, led by senior outfielder Skylar McCarty who hit 7-for-13 (.538). The ASU pitching staff posted a 3.62 ERA with junior Samantha Mejia pitching the majority of innings. Together, the four pitchers allowed 30 hits and 15 earned runs in the first five games. Trisha Ford is in her third season at the helm of the Arizona State program, where she has a 79-35 record. ASU leads the all-time series against Utah State, 27-11. The teams last met in 2016, an 11-1 five-inning win for the Sun Devils.
For the Aggies, junior outfielder Riley Plogger leads the team at the plate, batting .308 (4-of-13). As a team, USU is batting .220 (28-of-127). In the circle, freshman Kapri Toone leads the pitching staff with a 1.50 ERA, while the three pitchers have allowed 38 hits and 25 earned runs with a combined 6.03 ERA.
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.
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