SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Utah State softball (2-3) lost its final game of the UC Santa Barbara-hosted Campus Diamond Kickoff, falling 15-9 to North Dakota State (3-2) on Sunday.
 
NDSU held a 2-0 lead after the first inning. USU tied it up at 2-2 in the top of the second after an RBI single from senior first baseman Bri Lerma and a Bison fielding error.
 
North Dakota State hit a grand slam in the bottom of the second to extend its lead to 6-2 at the end of the inning. USU put two runners on base in the top of the third, but was unable to score in the inning. A couple NDSU singles and a sacrifice fly gave the Bison four more runs to extend the edge to 10-2 at the end of the third.
 
Freshman second baseman Ariel Lopez's sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth plated Lerma to trim the lead to 10-3. Neither team scored in the fifth.
 
The Aggies came out swinging in the top of the sixth as sacrifice flies from senior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane and sophomore third baseman Zaia Castruita, as well as RBI singles from Lopez, senior shortstop Lexi Orozco and senior catcher Gabriella Jimenez, cut the lead to 10-8. However, a pair of North Dakota State home runs in the bottom of the inning extended the Bison lead to 15-8.
 
Freshman Giselle Gonzalez came in as a pinch hitter and singled up the middle to bring home sophomore left fielder Libbie Hawker in the top of the seventh, but that would be it for Utah State as NDSU won 15-9.
 
Junior Alyssa Millemon made the start for the Aggies in the circle, where she pitched for 1.2 innings and recorded one strikeout and two walks. She was relieved by senior Kapri Toone in the bottom of the second. Toone pitched for 3.2 innings and posted two strikeouts and four walks. Junior Nya Laing relieved Toone in the bottom of the sixth, registering one strikeout and one walk during her time in the circle.
 
Utah State next travels to St. George, Utah, to take on Dixie State (0-5) in a three-game series on Saturday, Feb. 19, and Sunday, Feb. 20.
 
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 -