NOTES - Utah Softball Set for Three-Game Series at New Mexico

Full Notes (PDF)

Softball 4/18/2024 12:15:00 PM

PLAY BALL!

Utah State softball (22-22, 5-11 Mountain West) continues its 2024 campaign this week with a three-game road conference series. The Aggies travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to face the New Mexico Lobos with games on Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 20, at 1 p.m., and Sunday, April 21, at 11 a.m.

FOLLOW ALONG

Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via StatBroadcast, with video streamed on the Mountain West Network. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.

AGGIES VS LOBOS

• Utah State and New Mexico have met up 61 times in a series dating back to 1978. The Aggies hold a 32-29 series advantage, including a 15-14 lead over the Lobos in games played in Albuquerque.

• Last season in Logan, Utah State took two games of a three-game series. The Aggies first won a 10-inning contest 5-4 before winning game two 8-0 in a five-inning outing. New Mexico took the final game of the series 15-13. USU has won six of the past seven meetings.

• The Lobos enter the weekend 10-35 overall, with a 2-11 record in Mountain West games to sit at ninth in the league standings. New Mexico dropped two five-inning games at Colorado State in its most recent MW series. Before that, it was swept by San Diego State in two games, swept by Nevada in three games, took one of three games from UNLV and took one of three games from San José State. At home, the Lobos are 2-11 this season.

ICYMI

• Utah State won its most recent game, defeating in-state foe Utah Valley 10-5 on Tuesday evening in Orem. This was the final non-conference game of the season for the Aggies.

• In the circle, it was sophomore Tess Bumiller pitching a complete game with a career-high 7.0 innings in the circle. She was outstanding for the Aggies, allowing just two earned runs while throwing nearly 150 pitches and facing 34 batters with three strikeouts and three walks.

• Sophomore outfielder Jaden Colunga led the Aggie bats, posting a 3-for-4 performance at the plate with a home run and a double. Utah State recorded five extra base hits in the game, including a home run and two triples.

MATEJ-ING HISTORY

• Utah State sophomore catcher Grace Matej is having one of the best seasons at the plate ever by a Utah State player. Hitting .450 (49-for-109) this year, she has the best batting average in program history, ahead of Stephanie Green's .435 average in 1977.

• Only five players in program history have hit over .400 in a season, with Sarah Chow being the most recent to do so in 2015 (.413).

• Matej boasts a .661 slugging percentage this season, currently on track for sixth-best all-time. She also has 49 hits this year and needs just 11 more to break into the top-10 in school history.

GG GOES DEEP

Utah State junior infielder Giselle Gonzalez entered the year with just three home runs in her career, and now ranks just outside the all-time single season leaderboard. With eight moon shots this year, she needs just two more to break into the program's top-10 and four more to break into the top-five. Additionally, she ranks ninth in the MW this season.

OUT OF THE GATES

• Utah State has been pushed early in its Mountain West slate, facing each of the top six teams in the current standings to begin league play, three of those series on the road. The Aggies began MW competition with San Diego State and Boise State, the teams picked to finish first and second in the preseason poll.

• The Aggies' remaining conference opponents are the bottom two in the current standings. USU's remaining MW opponents are a combined 5-22 in league play, while its first six were a combined 41-31.