PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (10-9, 0-0 Mountain West) continues its 2024 campaign this weekend at the Louisville Slugger Invitational in Southern California. The Aggies will face off versus Fairfield (Friday, March 8, 12:30 p.m. (MT)) and North Dakota (Friday, March 8, 3 p.m. (MT)) in Long Beach, then face Yale (Saturday, March 9, 1:30 p.m. (MT)) and Toledo (Saturday, March 9, 4:30 p.m. (MT)) in Fullerton. The weekend concludes in Long Beach, when USU plays Long Beach State (Sunday, March 10, 1 p.m. (MT)).
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS STAGS
• This weekend's game between Utah State and Fairfield will be the first ever meeting by the sides.
• The Stags enter the weekend 1-7 overall. In 2023, Fairfield went 22-25 overall, including an 11-9 mark in league play to finish the season tied for fourth in the MAAC. The team returned six starters and nine letterwinners, while welcoming in five newcomers this year.
AGGIES VS FIGHTING HAWKS
• This weekend's game between Utah State and North Dakota will be the first ever meeting by the sides.
• The Fighting Hawks enter the weekend 5-17 overall. In 2023, North Dakota went 12-38 overall, including a 9-10 mark in league play to finish the season fifth in the Summit League West. The team returned eight starters and 10 letterwinners, while welcoming in eight newcomers this year.
AGGIES VS BULLDOGS
• Utah State and Yale have met up just one time previously, an 11-0 five-inning win for the Aggies at a neutral site contest played in La Jolla, California, back in 2022.
• The Bulldogs enter the weekend 1-8 overall. In 2023, Yale went 20-23 overall, including an 11-10 mark in league play to finish the season tied for third in the Ivy League. The team returned nine starters and 15 letterwinners, while welcoming in four newcomers this year.
AGGIES VS ROCKETS
• Utah State leads Toledo 5-2 in a series dating back to 1988. The Aggies have won each of the past three meetings, though the sides haven't met since 1998. In neutral site games, USU leads the series 3-2.
• The Rockets enter the weekend 6-7 overall. In 2023, Toledo went 21-25 overall, including a 14-14 mark in league play to finish the season seventh in the MAC. The team returned five starters and six letterwinners, while welcoming in 10 newcomers this year.
AGGIES VS BEACH
• Long Beach State leads Utah State 44-21-1 in a series dating back to 1982. LBSU has won three-straight and 24 of the past 25 meetings against USU, with the most recent contest coming on March 4, 2022, a 10-4 win for the Beach. In games played in Long Beach, USU is 11-17.
• The Beach enter the weekend 3-17 overall. In 2023, Long Beach State went 31-23 overall, including a 21-6 mark in league play to finish the season first in the Big West. The team returned five starters and 11 letterwinners, while welcoming in eight newcomers this year.
ICYMI
• Utah State played its fourth tournament of the season last weekend at the Capital Classic Davis and Sacramento, California, 2-2 in those contests. The Aggies opened the weekend with a 3-2 win over UC Davis on Friday then dropped a Saturday doubleheader to Sacramento State, a 9-1 six-inning loss and a 2-1 loss. On Sunday, the Aggies wrapped the tournament with a 7-3 win over UC Santa Barbara.
• Six different Aggie pitchers saw time in the circle, with redshirt sophomore Denay Smith and senior Jessica Stewart being credited with the wins. Smith pitched a team-high 13.0 innings, allowing four runs and posting eight strikeouts.
• Freshman outfielder Tatum Silva led the Aggie bats with a .455 (5-for-11) batting average while sophomore catcher Grace Matej had team-highs of two home runs and five RBIs.
FIFITA ON FIRE
Utah State junior infielder Ariel Fifita is off to an extremely strong start to the year, currently leading the Aggies and ranking third in the Mountain West in batting average at .442 (23-of-52). Fifita has been walked seven times this year, second-most on the team, and has batted leadoff for the Aggies in the past 13 games.
DENAY IS DEALING
Utah State redshirt sophomore Denay Smith has emerged as a major threat on the mound during her first season in an Aggie uniform. The transfer from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has a team-best 1.32 ERA in 10 appearances, second-best in the Mountain West. She has pitched 37.0 innings, 11 more than any other USU pitcher, and is responsible for three of the team's wins.
KEEPING IT CLOSE
Close games have been a theme early in the season for Utah State. Ten of the team's 19 games games have been determined by a single run. Seven of the team's nine losses have been by just one run.
WARMING UP
Utah State junior infielder Giselle Gonzalez had an outstanding weekend for the Aggies at the Utah Tech Classic. In the final three games of the tournament, she hit .636 (7-of-11) with three home runs and two doubles, including home runs in back-to-back innings against Eastern Kentucky. She also had six RBIs and four runs.
THE MAGIC NUMBER
When allowing two or fewer runs this season, Utah State is 8-1. When allowing three or more runs, the team is 2-8.
