PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (7-7) continues its 2020 season at the Capital Classic this weekend, co-hosted by Sacramento State and UC Davis. USU will begin the tournament with two games in Sacramento on Friday, Feb. 28, taking on Saint Mary's (4-12) at 10 a.m. (MT), and Sacramento State (9-6) at 12:30 p.m. Play will move to Davis, Calif., on Saturday, Feb. 29, as the Aggies take on Texas State (9-5) at 10 a.m., and UC Davis (7-7) at 12:30 p.m. Returning to Sacramento for the tournament finale, USU will play Santa Clara (7-7) on Sunday, March 1, at 10 a.m.
ABOUT THE CAPITAL CLASSIC
The Capital Classic is co-hosted by Sacramento State and UC Davis, with games being played on both campuses. Single-day ticket prices are set at $10 at Sacramento State and $12 at UC Davis. A full tournament pass is available for purchase at both schools, but that will not provide access at the opposite field.
A video stream will be available for Utah State's games against Sacramento State and UC Davis, and live stats will be provided for all five games. Social media coverage will also be available for each of Utah State's games during the weekend.
CALIFORNIA GIRLS
Though the Aggies will be on the road this weekend, 11 players will be playing in their home state. This tournament is particularly close to home for three USU players, as sophomore Gabriella Jimenez is from Sacramento, and freshmen Makenzie Macfarlane and Mazie Macfarlane are from Rocklin, a town 21 miles from Sacramento and 35 miles from Davis.
In all, the Utah State roster features players from eight California cities. Along with Jimenez and the Macfarlanes, Junior Kennedy Hira (Mission Viejo), junior Delaney Hull (Mission Viejo), sophomore Bri Lerma (Downey), sophomore Chloe Nightingale (Carmarillo), senior Alissa Noble (Chino), sophomore Lexi Orozco (San Marcos), senior Riley Plogger (Redlands) and sophomore Emily Tidd (Temecula) call the Golden State home.
BACK TO THE GOLDEN STATE
This weekend marks the third of six trips the Aggies will make to California this season. Utah State opened the season at the Titan Classic at Cal State Fullerton, followed by the Golden State Classic in Lake Elsinore. Utah State will close the tournament portion of its season at the Silicon Valley Classic II, co-hosted by San José State and Santa Clara. The Aggies will also play Mountain West series at Fresno State and San Diego State.
ALL-AGGIE REMATCH
This weekend, Utah State will face UC Davis for the second time this season. The two Aggie teams met in the Golden State Classic two weeks ago, a 5-3 win for Utah State. With that win, USU took the 4-3 lead in the all-time series between the two teams.
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM
Utah State batters have been hit by pitches 18 times this season, the most of any Mountain West team. Four Aggies were hit in back-to-back games against CSUN and Grand Canyon on Feb. 21. Against the Matadors, three of those hit batters happened in a row, bringing in USU's first run of the day.
Junior third baseman Kennedy Hira was hit twice against the Lopes, and she has been hit a team-high five times this season. After tying the single-season record with 12 hit-by-pitches a year go, junior outfielder Stephanie Reed has been hit four times this season. She has been hit 20 times in her career, the third-most of any Utah State player.
TAKING ON TEAM USA
Aggie freshmen catcher/first baseman Makenzie Macfarlane and outfielder Mazie Macfarlane were recently named to the Sactown Sluggers roster, a team of Sacramento-area players that will play a doubleheader exhibition against Team USA on May 17. The Macfarlanes are natives of Rocklin, Calif., where they prepped at Whitney High School and played club softball with Sorcerer Gold and the NorCal Firecrackers.
RBI REED
Junior outfielder Stephanie Reed recorded four RBIs in the Feb. 21 win over Grand Canyon. The four runs brought in are a career-high for Reed, and the most of any USU player this season. In the game, Reed was 2-for-4 at the plate, hitting one double.
NO HITS FOR YOU
Utah State sophomore pitcher Kapri Toone threw a five-inning no-hitter against San Diego on Feb. 15, an 8-0 win for the Aggies. The no-hitter was the seventh in program history, and the first since Feb. 25, 2018, when Delaney Hull recorded a five-inning no-hitter at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
MOUNTAIN WEST BEST
After a standout performance at the Golden State Classic, sophomore pitcher Kapri Toone was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 18. This was Toone's first MW weekly award, and the first given to an Aggie pitcher since 2018.
DOUBLED UP
Utah State is currently leading the Mountain West in doubles hit with 26. Three different Aggie players have hit a team-best four doubles this season. As a team, USU hit a season-high six doubles against Hawai'i. The six are the most hit by Utah State in a game since March 11, 2017, when the team had six against Wagner.
HOME RUN EXPLOSION
After hitting just one home run during opening weekend, the Aggies hit nine at the Golden State Classic. USU freshmen Mazie Macfarlane and Makenzie Macfarlane each hit the first home runs of their careers, while senior outfielder Riley Plogger and sophomore catcher/first baseman Gabriella Jimenez hit two each during the tournament. As a team, the Aggies hit a season-best three home runs in the 11-10 win over Hawai'i.
RILEY'S RECORDS
Senior outfielder Riley Plogger has secured a spot on two Utah State career record lists, as she ranks second in all-time runs scored (111) and is fourth in career walks (74). The all-time runs record at Utah State is 113, set by Victoria Saucedo in 2017.
HARD HITTING
Utah State tallied a season-high 16 hits in the Feb. 14 win over Hawai'i. The 16 hits are the most by the team since Feb. 17, 2018, when the Aggies recorded 19 hits in a 15-10 win over Buffalo.
THREE-FOR-ONE
The Utah State defense turned a rare triple play in the Feb. 9 game against UC Riverside. With runners on first and second after two walks, senior second baseman Ryann Holmes caught a line drive off the third batter. Sophomore Bri Lerma and sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco, each tagged a runner before they could return to base after the first catch.
This was the first triple play by any Division I team this season, and the first by Utah State since April 28, 2006. The triple play was recognized by NCAA Softball as the No. 1 play of the week.
TO THE RIGHT
After making 149 career starts in left field, senior outfielder Riley Plogger has moved to right field this season. Plogger has started every game she has played in throughout her career, missing four games due to injury as a sophomore.
DOUBLE VISION
You're not seeing double, there is a set of identical twins on the Utah State roster this season. Wearing number 41, Makenzie Macfarlane is a catcher and first baseman. Mazie Macfarlane, an outfielder, will wear number 15.
IT TAKES TWO
Makenzie Macfarlane and Mazie Macfarlane are one of 22 sets of twins playing on the same Division I team this season. Of those 22, 12 pairs are fraternal, while 10 are identical. Additionally, with Southern Utah and Weber State, Utah is one of three states to have three teams with a set of twins, joining Texas (Incarnate Word, Texas A&M, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) and Virginia (Liberty, Virginia, Virginia Tech).
STIFF COMPETITION
In 2020, Utah State will play six teams that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season. Boise State, BYU, Cal State Fullerton, Colorado State, Drake and Saint Francis were all eliminated in the Regional round of the 2019 championship. Of those teams, five earned their league's automatic bid, while Boise State was the sole at-large selection.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Utah State will face just one first-time opponent this season in Saint Francis. The Aggies and the Red Flash will play in the Silicon Valley Classic II, meeting on March 5 in San Jose, Calif., and on March 7 in Santa Clara. Utah State has previously played Drake and Seton Hall just one time each.
COVERING THE CONFERENCES
Utah State will play teams from 10 different athletic conferences this season. After the Mountain West, the next most-faced leagues will be the Big West and the West Coast Conference, playing six opponents from each. The Aggies will also see competition from the Big Sky (3) and the WAC (2), along with one team each from the Big East, Conference USA, Missouri Valley, Northeastern and Sun Belt.
NEW YEAR, NEW NUMBER
After wearing 18 her freshman season, sophomore catcher/first baseman Gabriella Jimenez will be wearing number 26 this year. She chose 26 as a way to honor her grandmother who passed away in the offseason.
LAST TIME OUT
Utah State posted a 1-3 record at the Grand Canyon-hosted Purple Classic last weekend. The Aggies opened the tournament in an eight-inning loss to CSUN (8-7), before shutting out Grand Canyon, 7-0. Weather forced a schedule change and USU closed the weekend in a pair of five-inning losses to Drake (8-0) and CSUN (11-3) on Sunday. Four pitchers saw time in the circle for the Aggies over the weekend, compiling an ERA of 4.67. Together, the four allowed 44 hits and 16 earned runs, while striking out 12 batters and walking 10. Junior outfielder Stephanie Reed led the team at the plate, hitting .429 (6-of-14). Defensively, sophomore catcher/first baseman Gabriella Jimenez led USU with 19 putouts.
UP NEXT
Utah State will close the tournament portion of the 2020 season next weekend at the Golden State Classic II, co-hosted by San José State and Santa Clara. The Aggies will open the weekend with three games in San Jose, starting with a game against Saint Francis on Thursday, March 5, at 7 p.m. (MT). USU will then play Saint Mary's and UC Santa Barbara on Friday, March 6, at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The Aggies will head to Santa Clara on Saturday, March 7, where they will take on Saint Francis and 9 a.m. and the host-Broncos at 11:30 a.m.
