Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 SANTA BARBARA, California – Utah State softball (2-2) registered its first wins of the 2022 campaign at the UC Santa Barbara-hosted Campus Diamond Kickoff on Saturday with a 6-4 victory against North Dakota State (2-2) and an 8-7 win against UCSB (2-3). USU and UCSB also played the final inning of the halted Friday game which the Gauchos won 9-6.
 
"Today was really big for our team's development," head coach Steve Johnson said. "We didn't perform as well as we expected yesterday, so to come out and play as well as we did today was important. Our bats really came alive and we played solid defense behind our pitchers. Mia Reynolds and Kapri Toone were fantastic in the circle as they carried us all day. The most important growth from today's games was that we had leads in both games, fought off comebacks and held on to win. That was something we struggled with last year, so it's good to see us be able to close things out."
 
North Dakota State took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Utah State put three runners on base in the top of the second as both senior right fielder Sydnee Smith and senior first baseman Bri Lerma walked, while sophomore left fielder Libbie Hawker singled to left field.
 
Back to the top of the order, junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane stepped up to the plate and recorded a three RBI double to right center. Freshman second baseman Ariel Lopez's single to right center then plated Macfarlane. The Aggies weren't done scoring in the inning yet as senior shortstop Lexi Orozco hit her second home run of the season to give Utah State the 6-1 lead in the top of the second.
 
NDSU added a pair of runs to the board in the bottom of the second to trim the Aggie advantage to 6-3.
 
USU had runners on base in each of the last five innings but was unable to score during the stretch. The Utah State defense put away the Bison batters in order in the bottom of the fifth, but North Dakota State would score one more run in the bottom of the sixth as the Aggies won it, 6-4.
 
Junior Nya Laing made the start for the Aggies in the circle where she recorded two walks in her 2.0 innings of work. She was relieved by freshman Mia Reynolds who posted two strikeouts and one walk in her 4.0 innings pitched. Reynolds was relieved by senior Kapri Toone in the top of the seventh.
 
Friday's game between the Aggies and Gauchos was halted due to darkness after the sixth inning with USU trailing 9-6. The teams played the final inning after the completion of Saturday's USU vs. NDSU game as UC Santa Barbara held on for the 9-6 win.
 
The Aggies and Gauchos then faced off in their regularly scheduled Saturday contest.
 
USU loaded the bases in the top of the first after Lopez singled, Orozco was hit by a pitch and sophomore third baseman Zaia Castruita walked.
 
Senior catcher/third baseman Gabriella Jimenez then stepped to the plate and hit a first inning grand slam to give Utah State the 4-0 advantage. The grand slam marked Jimenez's second home run of the season.
 
The Gauchos responded with a three-run homer of their own in the bottom of the inning to make it a 4-3 game at the end of the first.
 
UCSB went down in order in the bottom of the second as neither team scored in the inning. UC Santa Barbara then tied things up with an unearned run in the bottom of the third.
 
A pair of Aggies got on base in the top of the fourth after Smith walked and Hawker singled through the left side. Macfarlane posted a two RBI double with a shot down the left field line to put USU up 6-4.
 
With two outs and a runner on, Orozco recorded her second home run of the day and third of the season to give Utah State the 8-4 advantage in the top of the fourth.
 
UC Santa Barbara added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Both teams went down in order in the sixth as the Aggies entered the final inning with the 8-6 lead.
 
USU went three up, three down in the top of the seventh. The Gauchos put two runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the inning. A UCSB sacrifice fly cut Utah State's lead to 8-7. However, a flyout to Macfarlane sealed the 8-7 Utah State victory.  
 
Toone made the start for the Aggies against the Gauchos, recording two walks in her 2.1 innings. She was relieved by Reynolds who posted six strikeouts and one walk in her 4.2 innings of work.
 
Utah State will conclude its run at the Campus Diamond Kickoff on Sunday as the Aggies take on North Dakota State at 10 a.m. (MT). Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast.
 
For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball. 
 
- USU -