PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball is set to open its 2020 campaign this weekend in the Titan Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies will start the weekend against Pacific and Middle Tennessee on Friday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. (MT) and 4:30 p.m., respectively. Tournament play will continue on Saturday, Feb. 8, with a 1:30 p.m. contest against Loyola Marymount, and a 4 p.m. meeting with the host Titans. Opening weekend will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 10:30 a.m., when the Aggies take on UC Riverside.
ABOUT THE TITAN CLASSIC
The Titan Classic is in its third year under its current name, but this is the fifth season Cal State Fullerton has hosted a tournament on opening weekend. The tournament will feature 17 games between seven teams. Along with the Aggies and host-Cal State Fullerton, the Titan Classic welcomes Loyola Marymount, Middle Tennessee, Pacific, San José State and UC Riverside. All games will be played on the two diamonds at Anderson Family Field.
Tickets to the Titan Classic games can be purchased online at fullertontitans.com, or on gameday at the box office. Full day passes for the tournament are available for $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for youth. The entirety of the tournament will be streamed online by FloSoftball. A monthly or annual subscription and related fee is required to view the weekend's games, but the account can be closed at any time. A radio broadcast will be provided for the Aggies' game against Cal State Fullerton. Live stats and social media coverage will also be available for each game of the Titan Classic.
THE 2020 AGGIES
Under seventh-year head coach Steve Johnson, Utah State softball returns five starters and 10 total letterwinners for its 2020 season after posting a 17-30 record and going 6-17 in Mountain West play in 2019. Offensively, USU's top returner is sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco, who batted .336 in 134 at-bats last season. In the circle, the Aggies welcome back junior pitcher Delaney Hull, who posted 11 individual wins with a 5.69 ERA. Needing to fill the starting first base and catcher roles, senior outfielder Riley Plogger is the top returning defensive player for the Aggies, as she tallied 81 putouts with a .989 fielding percentage last season. In addition to the returning players, Utah State welcomes three new freshmen to the team.
FAMILIAR WITH FULLERTON
This weekend's Titan Classic will mark the fourth-straight season Utah State will open the year in a tournament at Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies played in the Titan Classic in 2018 and 2019, and opened the 2017 campaign in the Easton Invitational. Additionally, this will be the fourth year in a row USU will play Cal State Fullerton and Loyola Marymount in its opening weekend.
LEADING OFF
This weekend marks the opening of the 2020 season for Division I softball. All-time, Utah State is 25-19 in its season openers. Last season, the Aggies went 1-4 in their opening weekend at the Titan Classic.
CALIFORNIA GIRLS
Though the Aggies will be on the road this weekend, 11 players will be playing in their home state. The Utah State roster features players from eight California cities. Junior Kennedy Hira (Mission Viejo), junior Delaney Hull (Mission Viejo), sophomore Gabriella Jimenez (Sacramento), sophomore Bri Lerma (Downey), freshman Makenzie Macfarlane (Rocklin), freshman Mazie Macfarlane (Rocklin), 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 first of six trips the Aggies will make to California this season. Utah State will play in four preseason tournaments in the Golden State, also playing in the Golden State Classic (Lake Elsinore), the Capital Classic (Sacramento/Davis) and the Silicon Valley Classic II (San Jose/Santa Clara). The Aggies will also play Mountain West series at Fresno State and San Diego State.
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.
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).
NEW FACES IN THE DUGOUT
Utah State has three new players on the team this season, all of whom are freshmen. Catcher/first baseman Makenzie Macfarlane and outfielder Mazie Macfarlane join the Aggies from Rocklin, Calif., and Whitney HS. Utility Tyler Thornton is a local product out of Millville, Utah and Ridgeline HS.
There is also a new member of the USU coaching staff, as Bailey Thomas was named an assistant coach this fall. The 2016 Utah State graduate will oversee the outfield and assist with hitting.
ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT
The entirety of Utah State's 2020 pitching staff is right-handed. In all, there are just three players on the USU roster that throw left-handed, while six bat lefty.
STIFF COMPETITION
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.
MOUNTAIN WEST BEST
Sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco was named to the all-Mountain West first team at the end of the 2019 season. Orozco was the seventh freshman in Utah State history to earn first-team all-conference accolades, and the third to do so in the Mountain West era. In all, she is the fifth Aggie to earn first-team all-Mountain West honors. Orozco was one of five freshmen to earn all-Mountain West honors last season.
OUT-OF-THE-PARK RECORDS
With her second home run in the April 20 game against Fresno State, sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco set the Utah State single-season home run record. Her 13 home runs last season surpassed the previous record of 12, which had been set three times.
KAPRI SAVES THE DAY
Sophomore pitcher Kapri Toone earned three saves last season (March 15, April 5, May 10). Her three saves tie for fourth in a single season at Utah State, while tying for sixth on the career record list. Toone is one of five freshmen in program history to record multiple saves in the same season, joining Shelbi Tyteca (4, 2010), Julie Starratt (3, 1986), Kelly Smith (3, 1984) and Kellie White (2, 2017) in the feat.
AIN'T LIFE GRAND
Sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco hit two grand slams last season, doing so against New Mexico (April 7) and Fresno State (April 18). Orozco was the first freshman in Utah State program history to hit a grand slam. Additionally, she is just the third player in program history to hit more than one grand slam in her career and the first to hit two in the same season.
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM
Utah State batters were hit by pitches 50 times last season, leading the Mountain West and setting the USU program record. Junior outfielder Stephanie Reed led the team and ranked second in the Mountain West, having been hit by a pitch 12 times, tying the USU single-season record. The Utah State single-season hit-by-pitch record is 12, set three times prior by Noelle Johnson (2016) and Kelley Kaneshiro (2011, 2012), while Kaneshiro holds the career record, having gotten hit 36 times.
RILEY'S RECORDS
With her performance last season, senior outfielder Riley Plogger secured a spot on two career record lists. Plogger is tied for second in all-time runs scored (104) and tied for seventh in career walks (69).
BRING HER HOME
While climbing the home run record lists, sophomore shortstop Lexi Orozco also secured a spot on the single-season RBI record list. Orozco batted in 44 runs in 2019, which ties for second all-time at Utah State.
HOME RUN HEROES
Utah State hit multiple home runs in 15 games last season, including a season-high four in the series-opening win over New Mexico. The Aggies hit three or more homers in seven contests. The USU single-game home run record is five.
HOME RUN HEROES II
Three Utah State players hit multiple home runs in a single game last season. Senior first baseman Bailee Trapp hit two at Colorado State (March 29), senior catcher Bailey Lewis hit two against New Mexico (April 5) and then-freshman shortstop Lexi Orozco hit two against Fresno State (April 20).
UP NEXT
Utah State continues its preseason tournament slate next week at the Golden State Classic in Lake Elsinore, Calif. The Aggies will take on Hawai'i and Portland State on Friday, Feb. 14, at 10:30 a.m. (MT) and 3:30 p.m., respectively. On Saturday, Feb. 15, the team will face San Diego at 10 a.m., and UC Davis at 3 p.m. Tournament play will conclude on Sunday, Feb. 16, when USU plays Seton Hall at 10 a.m.
