LOGAN, Utah – Utah State softball wrapped up its home season with a 14-5 run-ruled victory against UNLV (21-27, 7-13 MW) on Sunday.
 
With the win, the Aggies, who also honored their five seniors for Senior Day in Nya Laing, Makenzie Macfarlane, Mazie Macfarlane, Alyssa Millemon and Tyler Thornton, remain in contention for one of the final spots in the 2023 Mountain West Championship.
 
"It was very important to get the win," graduate first baseman Gabriella Jimenez said. "We even said yesterday we were going to come out, grind and, no matter what it takes, we're going to do anything to win this game."
 
The Rebels struck first in the series finale, scoring two runs in the top of the second. Jimenez, who finished the game with a whopping seven RBIs, cut the lead in half with an RBI single in the bottom of the frame.
 
UNLV pushed its lead out to two in the top of the third, but a three-RBI double from Jimenez in the bottom of the inning gave the Aggies the 4-3 edge.
 
It was a home run party for Utah State in the bottom of the fourth as sophomore shortstop Ariel Fifita had a two-run bomb to left center, while freshman right fielder Kya Pratt and sophomore third baseman Claire Raley logged back-to-back solo homers to extend the advantage to 8-3.
 
The Rebels brought home one run in the top of the fifth, but a three-run home run by Fifita in the bottom of the inning gave the Aggies an 11-4 cushion.
 
UNLV scored one last time in the top of the sixth. USU started off the bottom of the frame with back-to-back singles before Jimenez stepped up to the plate. After fouling off the first two pitches, Jimenez blasted the next ball she saw to the scoreboard to give Utah State the 14-5 walk-off win.
 
"It honestly felt great," Jimenez said. "It was a great way to end my career here at Utah State. Especially at home, it's always the best feeling. It was great to get a team win."
 
Freshman Hailey McLean made the start in the circle for the Aggies, recording three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work. She was relieved by fellow freshman Tess Bumiller, who had four strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched to earn her sixth win of the season.
 
"It was huge," said head coach Steve Johnson, who coached his final game at LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field. "We challenged them at the beginning of the series on what we needed to do. We were frustrated with falling short yesterday. I challenged them before the game today and said, 'We have to come out and fight.' UNLV came out yesterday ready to fight and they just took it to us, and we had to come and do the same thing.
 
"I was really happy with the way we responded after the first two runs, and then once we got going, our offense did a great job. But, it was really a give and take. Tess did another fantastic job of limiting things. We got out of five of the six innings, so we went outs two and three which is huge. We never let them get rolling. A big win, and now we just get ready for San José State."
 
Up Next
Utah State (17-24, 8-11 MW) wraps up its regular season on the road as the Aggies face San José State (21-25, 9-10 MW) on Thursday, May 4, at 7 p.m. (MT), Friday, May 5, at 4 p.m. (MT), and Saturday, May 6, at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
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.
 
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