PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (10-13, 0-0 MW) kicks off its home campaign by hosting the Aggie Classic on Friday, March 18, and Saturday, March 19. The Aggies welcome the Maine Black Bears (2-12) and Idaho State Bengals (12-13) to LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field for the two-day tournament. On Friday, the Black Bears and Bengals will face off at 11 a.m., before USU and Maine play at 1:30 p.m. Utah State and Idaho State will play the last game of the day at 4 p.m. On Saturday, the teams will play in the same order as Maine and Idaho State play at 10 a.m., USU and Maine compete at 1 p.m., and Idaho State and Utah State face off at 4 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
This weekend's games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network, while live stats will be available via Sidearm. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages.

THIS IS OUR TURF
LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field received an upgrade this offseason as FieldTurf (Fast Grass) was installed in the outfield, warning track and halo, replacing the grass used in previous seasons. A new drainage system was also installed under the turf to help move snow or rain more quickly. New padding from Field Wall Pads/Sports Graphics was installed in the outfield. The infield is all clay. 
 
AGGIES VS. BLACK BEARS
Utah State and Maine have met once previously, with USU coming out with a 7-5 victory on Feb. 12, 2010. 
 
AGGIES VS. BENGALS
Utah State leads the all-time series 27-18 against Idaho State, but the Bengals have won each of the last eight games. USU and Idaho State last met on April 3, 2019, when the Bengals defeated the Aggies, 9-6.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco ranks second on the USU career record list with 35 home runs. She is just four homers away from tying the all-time record of 39 career bombs. Orozco previously set the single-season home run record with 13 in 2019 and has sent eight balls out of the park so far in 2022.
 
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 (.652), second in home runs (35) and third in runs batted in (119). 
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Utah State is tied for fourth in the Mountain West and is 48th in the nation in total doubles with 33. Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco leads the Aggies with six doubles.
 
SMOOTH CRIMINALS
Utah State stole more bases in February of 2022 (20) than in the entire 2021 season (16). Junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane leads the team with 12 stolen bases to rank second in the Mountain West and 33rd in the nation.
 
STEALING HOME
Junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane stole home in the top of the fourth inning in Utah State's 8-2 victory at Dixie State (Feb. 19), becoming the first Aggie to steal home since Megan McDonald vs. Utah Valley on April 20, 2010. 
 
WALK THIS WAY
Utah State trailed Saint Mary's 5-0 early in Game 1 of the teams' doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 26. The Aggies scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth and senior shortstop Lexi Orozco tied it up at 5-apiece in the bottom of the seventh with a leadoff home run to left field. Junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane lifted USU to a 6-5 victory with a walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. 
 
EXTRA, EXTRA
Utah State is 3-0 in 2022 in extra-inning games, with all three victories marking comeback wins. The Aggies first defeated Saint Mary's 6-5 in eight innings after trailing 5-0 through five innings (Feb. 26). USU then recorded a 6-5 win against Boston University after trailing 4-2 through six frames (March 5). Utah State most recently posted an 8-5 victory at Santa Clara after trailing 4-1 through five innings (March 13). 
 
SATURDAY IN THE PARK
Half of Utah State's 10 victories have been on Saturday. 
 
MAKE SURE TO TOONE IN
Utah State is 7-1 in 2022 when senior Kapri Toone makes the start in the circle for the Aggies. Toone leads USU's pitching staff with a 3.13 ERA, holding opponents to .266 at the plate.
 
MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco was named the Mountain West Player of the Week on March 8 after posting a .667 batting average (8-of-12) as Utah State went 2-3 at the San Diego Classic. In all, Orozco registered eight hits, including three homers and four doubles, as well as a slugging percentage of 1.750. She also drew six walks and scored four runs at the classic, while posting a team-high 10 RBIs, and led the team defensively with 20 putouts and three assists over the weekend.  
 
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 recorded 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). 
 
FIRST-CAREER HOMER
Two Aggies have registered their first collegiate home run at the Division I level this season as freshman second baseman Ariel Lopez hit a two-run homer against UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 11), and senior right fielder Sydnee Smith hit a three-run bomb in USU's 8-2 victory at Dixie State (Feb. 19).
 
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.
 
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, who 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 hosts Utah Valley on Wednesday, March 23, at 3 p.m. 

- USU -