PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (2-3) continues its 2022 campaign this week as the Aggies travel to St. George Utah, to take on Dixie State (0-5) in a three-game series. USU and Dixie State will first face off in a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 19, with games at noon and 2:30 p.m. The Aggies and Trailblazers will square off again on Sunday, Feb. 20, at noon. 
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can tune into this weekend's games on the WAC Digital Network. Live stats will be available via StatBroadcast. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages.
 
AGGIES VS. TRAILBLAZERS
Utah State is 2-3 all-time against Dixie State. USU came out victorious in the last meeting with a 3-2 victory in Logan on May 9, 2021.
 
BEEHIVE BATTLE
All-time, Utah State is 220-198-1 against seven other Utah programs. USU has played Utah the most, with 150 past meetings. The Aggies have winning records against Snow College (4-0), Southern Utah (63-26), Weber State (37-17) and Utah Valley (25-13).
 
OPENING WEEKEND
Utah State opened its 2022 campaign with a 2-3 record at the UC Santa Barbara-hosted Campus Diamond Kickoff. USU went 1-2 against North Dakota State (L, 3-10; W, 6-4; L, 9-15) and split its games against the Gauchos (L, 6-9; W, 8-7). Four Aggie pitchers saw time in the circle, combining for an ERA of 8.70. The USU pitchers allowed 51 hits and 41 earned runs, while striking out 20 batters and walking 19. Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco led the Aggies at the plate after batting .474 (9-of-19). As a team, USU hit .333 (49-of-147), including 12 doubles and six home runs. Senior catcher/third baseman Gabriella Jimenez was tops defensively, recording 23 putouts and five assists. 
 
CAME OUT SWINGING
Utah State had its best opening weekend offensively in the Steve Johnson era at the Campus Diamond Kickoff as the Aggies posted a .333 batting average, while registering 49 hits and 32 runs. Eleven Aggies registered at least one hit during the weekend, while nine USU players posted multiple hits. Six Utah State players hit a combined 12 doubles, led by freshman catcher Taryn Edds and junior outfielder Mazie Macfarlane with three each. Three Aggies hit a home run at the kickoff in senior shortstop Lexi Orozco (3), senior catcher/third baseman Gabriella Jimenez (2) and freshman infielder Ariel Lopez (1). 
 
WINNING THE CLOSE ONES
Utah State is 2-0 this season in games determined by two runs or less. The Aggies first defeated North Dakota State 6-4, and followed suit with an 8-7 victory over UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 12).
 
SATURDAY IN THE PARK
Utah State won both of its scheduled Saturday games in its season opener at the Campus Diamond Kickoff as the Aggies defeated both NSDU (6-4) and UCSB (8-7) on Feb. 12.
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Utah State leads the Mountain West and is sixth in the nation in total doubles with 12.  Freshman catcher Taryn Edds and junior outfielder Mazie Macfarlane lead the Aggies with three doubles each to tie for first in the Mountain West and rank 13th nationally. 
 
AIN'T LIFE GRAND?
Utah State hit three grand slams during the 2021 season, the most by an Aggie team in program history. USU picked up right where it left off in 2022 as senior catcher/third baseman Gabriella Jimenez hit a grand slam in the top of the first in the Aggies' 8-7 victory over UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 12).
 
A MERE THREE GRAND
With a grand slam at Utah Valley (April 21, 2021), shortstop Lexi Orozco became the all-time leader in program history with three grand slams in her career. Orozco hit two as a freshman in 2019. She is one of four known Aggies to hit more than one grand slam in program history.
 
CLIMBING UP THE RECORD LIST
Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco sits in the top-10 of several USU career record lists as she ranks first in slugging percentage (.631), third in career home runs (30) and fifth in runs batted in (99). 
 
OUT OF THE PARK, INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Two Aggies earned spots on the single-season record list with 10 home runs in 2021 to tie for seventh all-time in first baseman/catcher Gabriella Jimenez and shortstop Lexi Orozco. Orozco previously set the program record for home runs in a single season with 13 homers in 2019.
 
MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF
Sophomore third baseman Zaia Castruita was named first-team all-Mountain West as a freshman in the 2021 season. She played in and started all 44 games, while batting a team-high .315 with 41 hits in 130 at-bats. Castruita registered multiple hits in 12 games, finishing the year with five doubles, a team-best two triples and two home runs. She hit a grand slam against San Diego State (April 25), recording five RBIs in the game. Castruita finished her freshman campaign with 15 runs and batted in 17, while also leading the team with a .357 on-base percentage. Defensively, Castruita recorded 61 putouts and 86 assists with a .980 fielding percentage
 
DOUBLE VISION
You're not seeing double as there is a set of identical twins on the Utah State roster. Wearing number 41, Makenzie Macfarlane is a catcher and first baseman. Mazie Macfarlane, an outfielder, wears number 15. The duo are mirror image twins, with opposite features. For example, Makenzie is right-handed, while Mazie is left-handed. 
 
CALIFORNIA GIRLS
Fourteen of the 21 Aggies on the 2022 roster have come to Utah State from California in seniors Gabriella Jimenez (Sacramento), Bri Lerma (Downey), Lexi Orozco (San Marcos) and Emily Tidd (Temecula), juniors Makenzie and Mazie Macfarlane (Rocklin), sophomores Zaia Castruita (Chula Vista) and Jessica Stewart (Salinas), and freshmen Taryn Edds (Anaheim), Giselle Gonzalez (San Diego), Ariel Lopez (San Marcos), Claudia Medina (West Sacramento), Claire Raley (Clovis) and Mia Reynolds (Tulare).
 
HOME GROWN
Utah State has five players from the state of Utah in senior Kapri Toone (Tremonton), juniors Nya Laing (Logan) and Tyler Thornton (Millville), sophomore Libbie Hawker (Bountiful) and freshman Emily Dority (South Jordan). 
 
UP NEXT
Utah State next travels to Santa Clara, California, to compete in the Silicon Valley Classic I from Feb. 25-27. At the classic, the Aggies will face Sacramento State (2-2), Santa Clara (1-4), Saint Mary's (2-3) and Cal Poly (0-5). 
 
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