PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (19-12, 3-3 Mountain West) continues its 2024 campaign this week with a three-game Mountain West series in Las Vegas, Nevada, versus UNLV, before playing a single game at Utah. The Aggies face off with the Rebels on Thursday, March 28, at 7 p.m. (MT), Friday, March 29, at 4 p.m. (MT), and Saturday, March 30, at 1 p.m. (MT). They will take on Utah on Monday, April 1, at 5 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast and Sidearm, while games will also be streamed on the Mountain West Network and Pac-12 Plus. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS REBELS
• Utah State and UNLV have met up 67 times in a series dating back to 1981. The Rebels hold a 37-30 series advantage, including a 14-12 lead over the Aggies in games played in Las Vegas.
• Last season in Logan, the Aggies won two games of a three-game series. USU won 4-3 in nine-innings, before a 13-4 five-inning UNLV win. The series wrapped with a 14-5 six-inning win for the Aggies. UNLV has won six of the past 10 meetings between the sides.
• The Rebels enter the weekend 18-10 overall, with a 3-2 record in Mountain West games. UNLV split a doubleheader with Colorado State at home to open league play, then took two out of three games in Albuquerque against New Mexico last week. At home, UNLV is 5-7 this year.
AGGIES VS UTES
• Utah State and Utah have met up 153 times in a series dating back to 1981. The Utes hold a 93-56-1 series advantage, including a 44-26 lead over the Aggies in games played in Salt Lake City. This is the most-played matchup in USU's program history, though the two teams haven't met since 2014.
• The Utes enter the week 17-14 overall, with a 1-8 record in Pac-12 games though all nine league contests have been against top-25 foes. Utah is 2-0 against MW opponents this year. It will play a three-game home series this weekend against California before hosting the Aggies.
ICYMI
• Utah State opened the home portion of its schedule last week with a 3-1 showing at Johnson Field. The Aggies took down Idaho State in a 6-4 win on Tuesday before winning two games of a three-game series against reigning MW Champion Boise State. Utah State took a double-header on Friday with a 2-1 win, followed by a 9-1 five-inning victory. On Saturday, the Broncos bounced back to take a 13-1 five-inning contest.
• Five different Aggie pitchers saw time in the circle, with redshirt sophomore Denay Smith pitching a team-high 10.1 innings. Graduate Katie Zuniga, senior Jessica Stewart and sophomore Tess Bumiller earned wins on the mound, with Zuniga posting a team-best 2.25 ERA. The Aggie pitching staff had a combined 6.38 ERA during the week with 21 strikeouts and 17 earned runs.
• Senior outfielder Ali Ashner led the Aggie bats with a .500 (5-for-10) batting average during the series with three doubles and a home run.
STREAK SNAPPED
Prior to last weekend's games, Utah State had lost 17-straight contests against Boise State and hadn't won a series against the Broncos since 2017. Friday's five-inning win was just the third time in 43 meetings USU has run-ruled Boise State.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
• With a strong performance in USU's four games last week, senior outfielder Ali Ashner was named the Mountain West Player of the Week.
• The Arizona transfer led the Aggie bats, hitting .500 (5-for-10) with three doubles and a home run. She came up clutch on multiple occasions, hitting the go-ahead home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to help secure the win against Idaho State, then scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth in USU's 2-1 win over Boise State.
• On the week, Ashner totaled three RBIs and four scored runs, while also recording nine putouts in left field. She posted a .500 on base percentage and a 1.100 slugging percentage.
HELLO, OLD FRIEND
This week's trip to Las Vegas is a return home for former Rebel first baseman and current Aggie assistant coach Mia Trejo. UNLV's all-time career leader in RBIs, Trejo started all 224 games of her five-year career in Las Vegas and became one of the most decorated softball players in Mountain West history as a five-time all-MW selection.
BREAKOUT SEASON
In her fourth year at Utah State, senior right-handed pitcher Jessica Stewart has had a major breakout season. After making just three appearances in the circle and pitching just 4.1 innings last season, Stewart owns a league-best 1.77 ERA this year and ranks fourth in the nation with five saves.
PITCH (NEARLY) PERFECT
• Utah State boasts two of the top five pitcher ERAs in the Mountain West as senior Jessica Stewart leads the league with a 1.77 ERA while redshirt sophomore Denay Smith ranks fifth with a 2.21 ERA.
• In 2023, the Utah State pitching staff ranked sixth in the Mountain West with a 4.96 combined ERA. This season, Aggie pitchers have combined for an ERA of 3.08.
LIGHT THE A BLUE
• Entering the week with a 19-12 record, Utah State has already surpassed last season's win total of 18 with still 18 games remaining in the regular season.
• This is the team's best start to a season since 2017 when the team started 23-8. Prior to that, the last time USU started a year 19-12 or better was back in 1987.
COURT IS IN SESSION
Utah State head coach Todd Judge is off to one of the best coaching starts in program history in his first season at the helm. With a 19-12 mark this year, this is the best 31-game start under a first year head coach since Utah State Hall of Famer Lloydene Searle's 1981 squad started 24-7. Just three of the nine previous head coaches at USU posted a winning record in their first season, while just four won 20-plus games in their first season.
FIFITA'S FEELIN IT
• Utah State junior infielder Ariel Fifita is having the best season of her career, currently leading the Aggies and ranking seventh in the Mountain West with a batting average of .388 (33-of-85) with five doubles and two home runs.
• Fifita's .490 on base percentage ranks fourth in the MW, while she leads the team in hits (33) and is second in walks (11).
MOUNTAIN BEST
• The Mountain West is off to one of its best starts in recent years. Seven of the nine teams have a winning record against non-conference opponents, while San José State is just a game back of .500. Last season, just four MW teams had a winning out of conference record.
• In non-conference play, Mountain West teams have combined for an overall record of 136-93 (.607) this season.
