PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (16-15, 3-0 MW) is back at LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field this week as the Aggies host Weber State (22-7, 0-0 Big Sky) on Tuesday, March 29, at 4 p.m. USU then hosts Colorado State (11-16, 3-3 MW) on Friday, April 1, at 4 p.m., Saturday, April 2, at noon, and Sunday, April 3, at noon.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
This week'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. WILDCATS
Tuesday's game will mark the 55th meeting between the Aggies and Wildcats as USU leads the all-time series 37-17. Utah State has won the last two games with a 2-0 victory on Feb. 27, 2021, and a 9-0 (5) win on March 20, 2019.
 
AGGIES VS. RAMS
Utah State leads the all-time series 38-25 against Colorado State, however, CSU has won the last four meetings.
 
CONFERENCE-OPENING SWEEP
Utah State swept New Mexico (5-4, 4-2, 13-4) in its conference opener in Albuquerque last weekend. It marked the sixth time in program history USU has opened conference play 3-0 and is the first time the Aggies have done so since the 2014 campaign. It was also USU's first three-game MW sweep since 2016.
 
BOMBS AWAY
Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco ranks second on the USU career record list with 36 home runs. She is just three 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 nine 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 (.654), second in home runs (36) and second in runs batted in (129). Orozco needs four more homers and four more RBIs to break the USU program records. 
 
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Utah State is second in the Mountain West and is 24th in the nation in total doubles with 47. Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco and junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane lead the Aggies with nine doubles each.
 
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 15 stolen bases to rank second in the Mountain West and 43rd 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. 
 
WALK THIS WAY - PART II
Utah State trailed Maine 6-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth in its home opener on Friday, March 18. The Aggies tied it up after scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco stepped up to the plate and posted a two-RBI double to right center to secure the 8-7 walk-off Utah State victory.
 
EXTRA, EXTRA
Utah State is 4-0 in 2022 in extra-inning games, coming back to win all four contests. 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 posted an 8-5 victory at Santa Clara after trailing 4-1 through five innings (March 13). The Aggies most recently defeated Maine 8-7 in extra innings after trailing the Black Bears 6-3 midway through the sixth.
 
SATURDAY IN THE PARK
Seven of Utah State's 16 victories have been on Saturday. 
 
SIX IS A MAGIC NUMBER
Fourteen of Utah State's 16 victories in 2022 have come when the Aggies have scored six or more runs.
 
MAKE SURE TO TOONE IN
Utah State is 8-2 in 2022 when senior Kapri Toone makes the start in the circle for the Aggies. 
 
LOOK AT ME, I CAN BE CENTER FIELD
Junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane is the only Aggie in the 2022 campaign to have started in all 31 games. She is also the only USU player to start at the same position in every game played. Macfarlane has led off for Utah State in all but one game in 2022.
 
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).
 
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). 
 
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