RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Utah State softball (2-2, 0-0 MW) split a pair of games on the final day of the Lynn Russell Miller Classic Sunday afternoon in Riverside, falling to Portland State 3-2, then defeating UC Riverside 5-2.
Against the Vikings, the Aggie bats started out hot as the first two hitters singled to get things going. Sophomore catcher
Grace Matej then doubled to left field to bring home sophomore outfielder
Kya Pratt and senior outfielder
Ali Ashner. Utah State held on to the 2-0 lead until the bottom of the third, when the Vikings put three runs on the board to take the lead. Sophomore pitcher
Tess Bumiller entered in the bottom of the second to replace sophomore
Hailey McLean on the mound.
Neither team would score again, as Utah State out-hit the Vikings 8-5 in the contest but left 10 runners on base.
In the second game of the afternoon, the Aggies faced an early deficit as UC Riverside opened the contest with a leadoff triple, followed by another hit immediately following to make it 1-0. A single to left field by junior outfielder
Brooklyn Pritchett brought home junior infielder
Giselle Gonzalez evened things up in the top of the second. Each team scored a run in the third as the Highlanders hit a home run in the top of the inning, followed by an RBI from sophomore outfielder
Jaden Colunga in the bottom.
Pratt scored her second run of the day in the fourth inning on an Ashner double, then Gonzalez cleared the left field fence in the fifth to make it a 4-2 Aggie lead with the first Utah State home run of the season. This was the third hit and second run of the contest for Gonzalez.
USU capped things off with another home run in the seventh inning to go up 5-2, this time it was sophomore infielder
Alex Bunton.
After entering the contest in the third inning, redshirt sophomore pitcher
Denay Smith took the Aggies the rest of the way on the mound, throwing 81 pitches without allowing a run.
Up Next
Utah State (2-2, 0-0 MW) remains in Riverside next weekend to compete in the Cal Baptist Classic. The tournament begins on Friday, Feb. 16, when the Aggies face CSU Bakersfield at 11 a.m. (MT), then Weber State at 1:30 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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