LOGAN, Utah – Utah State softball (23-18, 9-3 Mountain West) pulled away with an 8-7 victory over Nevada (13-30, 3-12 MW) at LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field on Saturday.
 
The bats were hot for both teams in Game 3 of the series as USU and Nevada had a combined seven home runs in the contest. Senior catcher Gabriella Jimenez led the Aggies with two homers to bring her season total to 10.
 
"We knew this team could hit," head coach Steve Johnson said. "They did it last week and, obviously, on Friday. We knew we still had two chances after they took the lead and we just took advantage of what we do offensively. We had some well-timed hits and the home run. I'm still not sure what happened there at the end. That was as wild and crazy of a finish as you're going to get. Bu, it feels good. It's another conference series win heading into UNLV week."
 
The Wolf Pack took an early 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the top of the second.
 
The Aggies responded with a 5-run outing in the bottom of the frame to take a 5-2 edge. Senior right fielder Bri Lerma reached on a fielder's choice and advanced to second when freshman third baseman Claire Raley drew a walk. Junior center fielder Mazie Macfarlane singled down the left field line to score Lerma.
 
USU then hit back-to-back home runs as freshman designated player Ariel Lopez knocked a three-run bomb over the center-field wall before Jimenez recorded a solo shot to right field.
 
Lopez drew a walk to lead off for the Aggies in the bottom of the fourth before stealing second. Sophomore second baseman Zaia Castruita brought Lopez home with a single through the right side to extend the margin to 6-2.
 
The Aggies gave up three home runs in the top of the fifth as the Wolf Pack brought home four runners to tie it at 6-apiece. Nevada added one more run in the top of the sixth to hold a 7-6 advantage.
 
Jimenez recorded her second home run of the day to right center to even the score at 7-each in the bottom of the sixth. Senior shortstop Lexi Orozco followed with a single to right center and junior Tyler Thornton entered the game as a pinch runner for Orozco. Thornton advanced to second when Castruita drew a walk and took third on a fielder's choice. A Nevada passed ball allowed Thornton to score and give the Aggies took the 8-7 lead heading into the seventh.
 
With Wolf Pack runners on second and third with one out, the Aggie defense came up with the big double play to end the game and secure the 8-7 Utah State victory.

"It felt really good," Makenzie Macfarlane said. "At the end, we really came together as a team. We could've come down and been sad about the back-to-back home runs that were hit, but we came together as a team, scored those two runs and finished it on defense."
 
Freshman Mia Reynolds made the start in the circle for the Aggies before being relieved by senior Kapri Toone in the top of the fifth. After Nevada started to make a comeback in the frame, Reynolds reentered the game to earn her eighth win of the season. The freshman recorded five strikeouts and three walks in her 7.0 innings of work on Saturday.
 
"We stayed collected and stayed together as a group," Jimenez. "We didn't get low when we could've got low. We stayed positive the whole time."
 
Utah State next travels to Pocatello, Idaho, to take on Idaho State (19-20, 3-6 Big Sky) on Tuesday, April 19, at 4 p.m., before resuming conference play at UNLV (30-10, 8-4 MW), on Friday, April 22, Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24.
 
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 –