Box Score SAN DIEGO, California – Utah State softball (15-10, 0-1 MW) dropped its Mountain West opener Friday evening, falling to San Diego State 6-4. 
 
The Aggies got off to a strong start with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning to take an early lead. With two outs, sophomore catcher Grace Matej stepped up to deliver her third home run of the season with a shot over the right field fence. A single by sophomore infielder Alex Bunton followed, who then worked her way around the bases to score against her former team on a fielding error to make it 2-0. 
 
Trailing by two runs, the Aztecs loaded the bases before recording an out in the bottom of the second, but a double play by USU helped limit the hosts to just a run. SDSU then took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third. 
 
USU junior infielder Ariel Fifita was involved in scoring plays in back-to-back innings to put USU back out front, coming home on a fifth inning sacrifice fly by Matej, then being hit by a pitch in the sixth with the bases loaded to bring home freshman infielder Emerson Meggers. With Utah State's lead at 4-3, the Aztecs fought back to score three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead and ultimately the victory. 
 
Matej led Utah State's efforts at the plate as she went 2-for-3 with a team-high two RBIs in the contest. Silva also recorded a pair of hits, going 2-for-4 on the night. 
 
On the mound, redshirt sophomore Denay Smith started and played the first 2.2 innings for USU. She was replaced by sophomore Tess Bumiller, who went for 2.1 innings before being replaced by senior Jessica Stewart. 
 
Up Next
Utah State (15-10, 0-0 MW) now remains in San Diego for game two of a three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 5 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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