SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – Utah State softball wrapped up the tournament portion of its season Saturday, as it dropped a pair of games at the Cal Poly-hosted Mustang Classic. The Aggies fell to Iowa State, 9-0, in six innings, and the host Mustangs, 8-6.
Sophomore designated player
Kennedy Hira led the Aggies at the plate Saturday, as she batted .667 (4-of-6) between the two games.
After a quiet two innings, Iowa State scored its first four runs in the third, and continued to tack on at least one through the remainder of the game. The Aggies had at least one base runner in all but two innings, led by junior outfielder
Riley Plogger, who got on base in some manner in all three of her plate appearances.
In all, Utah State had four hits in the game, while Iowa State had nine. The Aggies had two defensive errors to the Cyclones' one. Freshman pitcher
Chloe Nightingale started the contest for USU, but was relieved by freshman
Kapri Toone after two innings. Together the pair struck out three batters and walked another three.
After a short break, Utah State returned to the field for the tournament finale against Cal Poly.
The Aggie offense started out strong against the Mustangs, plating five runs in the top of the first inning. Sophomore outfielder
Stephanie Reed was first on base, reaching on a Cal Poly error. She advanced on a single from Hira, when both runners then advanced on a groundout. A single from junior shortstop
Ryann Holmes brought Reed home, while Hira and Holmes then scored on a double from senior first baseman
Bailee Trapp. A two-run home run from freshman second baseman
Kenzie Bolin brought Trapp in and gave the Aggies an early 5-0 lead.
The Utah State defense retired the Cal Poly side in both of the first two innings before the Aggies added a sixth run in the top of the third. Junior third baseman
Erin Kuba led off with a double, later advancing on a groundout. A single from Bolin then brought Kuba home for what would be USU's final run of the day.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the Cal Poly offense came alive and the Mustangs mounted the comeback, scoring eight unanswered runs. Down two heading to the bottom of the seventh, a pair of two-run home runs gave Cal Poly the walk-off win.
Utah State out-hit the Mustangs, 11-9, while each team had one error. Sophomore
Delaney Hull started in the circle for the Aggies, while Toone pitched the final 1.1 innings. Hull struck out four batters, while the two combined to walk another four.
Utah State will open Mountain West play next weekend in a three-game series at Nevada. The Aggies and Wolf Pack will open the series on Friday, March 15, at 5 p.m. (MT), with a 2 p.m. game on Saturday, March 16. The weekend will conclude on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m.
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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