ST. GEORGE, Utah – Utah State softball (6-6, 0-0 MW) split a pair of games Saturday afternoon on day two of the Utah Tech Classic, first falling to Weber State 5-4, then taking down Eastern Kentucky in a dominant 12-2 five-inning win.
In game one, all of Utah State's four runs came in the third inning. After falling behind 2-0 through a couple of innings, the Aggies had a strong response in the third. Junior outfielder
Brooklyn Pritchett reached base on a walk before junior infielder
Ariel Fifita sent one over the left field fence, her first home run of the campaign. Sophomore infielder
Alex Bunton then doubled to bring in senior outfielder
Ali Ashner all the way from first before scoring herself on a passed ball.
The USU lead didn't last for long, however, as the Wildcats strung together three runs in the bottom of the inning to go ahead 5-4. Neither team scored again the rest of the way.
On the mound, four Aggies saw time. Sophomore
Tess Bumiller started and pitched 1.2 innings before being replaced by senior
Jessica Stewart for 0.1 innings. Redshirt sophomore
Denay Smith entered in the third and was credited with the loss. Graduate
Katie Zuniga pitched the final 3.1 innings, earning four strikeouts.
While dealing Eastern Kentucky its second loss of the season, the Aggies got off to a hot start with seven runs in the first two innings in its second game of the afternoon. After Fifita and Pritchett got on base to start the game with a single and a walk, respectively, junior infielder
Giselle Gonzalez brought them home with a home run blasted to center field. The explosive first inning was followed by another when a home run by Bunton scored junior infielder
Claudia Medina from third, immediately followed by the second home run of the afternoon from Gonzalez to make it 7-0.
The Colonels got on the board with their lone run of the afternoon in the bottom of the third, scoring an unearned run on an Aggie error, but USU would tack on four more runs before the contest was over. In the fourth, a Medina double scored Ashner from second. In the fifth, the first two Utah State hitters got on base before Gonzalez delivered a double for her fifth RBI of the afternoon. Bunton then scored on a sac fly from sophomore outfielder
Kya Pratt, followed by a single by sophomore outfielder
Jaden Colunga to bring in freshman infielder
Emerson Meggers.
In total, eight different Aggies combined for a season-high 14 hits, while seven different USU players scored. Gonzalez led the team at the plate with five RBIs and three hits, followed by Bunton's four RBIs and two hits. Pritchett scored a team-high three runs.
On the mound, Stewart had an outstanding effort to collect her second win of the season. She pitched all five innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four batters.
Up Next
Utah State (6-6, 0-0 MW) concludes its stay in St. George tomorrow with a pair of games, first playing Eastern Kentucky at 12:30 p.m., before facing host Utah Tech at 3 p.m.
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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