PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (21-18, 5-8 Mountain West) continues its 2024 campaign this week with four games against a pair of opponents. The Aggies first travel to Cedar City, Utah, to face Southern Utah in a single game on Wednesday, April 10, at 1 p.m. The team then returns home to host Colorado State in a three-game series with games on Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m., Saturday, April 13, at noon, and Sunday, April 14, at noon, at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via Sidearm and StatBroadcast, while games against CSU will also be 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 THUNDERBIRDS
• Wednesday's meeting will be the 90th all-time showdown between Utah State and Southern Utah. The Aggies lead the series 63-26 and have won three-straight against SUU. In Cedar City, USU holds a 26-11 series advantage.
• With 89 all-time meetings, Southern Utah is the third-most played rival in Utah State's program history, only behind Utah (150) and New Mexico State (98).
• The Thunderbirds enter the weekend 14-18 overall, with a 4-8 record in WAC games and a 10-10 record against non-conference opponents. At home, Southern Utah is 4-3 this season. Before hosting Utah State on Wednesday, SUU will play a doubleheader on the road at Utah Tech on Tuesday, April 9.
AGGIES VS RAMS
• Utah State and Colorado State have met up 68 times in a series dating back to 1976. The Aggies hold a 42-26 series advantage, including a 19-7 lead over the Rams in games played in Logan.
• Last season in Fort Collins, the teams split a two-game series. Utah State won the first contest 6-0 before Colorado State bounced back to win the second game 7-2. USU has won four of the past five meetings.
• The Rams enter the weekend 20-15 overall, with a 3-7 record in Mountain West games to sit just below Utah State at seventh in the league standings. Colorado State is coming off of its first MW series win, taking both games at home against New Mexico last weekend. Prior to that, it lost all three at San Diego State, lost all three at home versus Nevada and split a two-game series at UNLV. On the road, the Rams are 2-8 this season.
ICYMI
• Utah State split four games against Mountain West opponents last week. USU first took both games at home against league-leader Nevada, a 6-5 nine-inning win and a 5-4 win, before falling twice on the road to Fresno State, losing 9-1 in five innings then 6-0 in the second contest.
• Six different Aggie pitchers saw time in the circle, with senior Jessica Stewart pitching a team-high 11.0 innings with 11 strikeouts and a 2.45 ERA. The Aggie pitching staff had a combined 4.78 ERA during the stretch with 14 strikeouts, 14 earned runs and seven batters walked.
• Sophomore catcher Grace Matej led the Aggie bats with a .462 (6-for-13) batting average during the week with an RBI and a run.
SCHEDULE CHANGE
Wednesday's game at Southern Utah was originally scheduled to be played on March 13, but was postponed due to rain.
OUT OF THE GATES
• Utah State has been pushed early in its Mountain West slate, facing each of the top five 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 three in the current standings, with two of those series at home and a bye week the last weekend of April. USU's remaining MW opponents are a combined 8-35 in league play, while its first five were a combined 38-18.
AGGIES TAKE DOWN WOLF PACK
• Utah State earned a pair of dramatic victories in a doubleheader against Nevada last Wednesday at Johnson Field, taking down the league-leaders in a 6-5 nine-inning contest followed by a 5-4 win. The Wolf Pack entered the series 30-7 overall.
• Sophomore outfielder Jaden Colunga displayed heroics in the series, hitting sixth-inning home runs in each game to help secure the wins. Sophomore catcher Grace Matej hit .625 (5-for-8), while junior infielder Ariel Fifita hit .500 (4-for-8) with a home run and four runs scored.
• Senior Jessica Stewart earned both wins on the mound, entering in the sixth inning in both contests and posting a 1.50 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched with just a single earned run.
MOUNTAIN WEST MATEJ
• Utah State sophomore catcher Grace Matej has been on fire recently, with the best hitting stretch of her career. In 13 games against Mountain West opponents, she's hitting .500 (20-for-40) with two doubles, two home runs, 11 RBIs and nine runs scored. During that stretch, she's posted a .512 on base percentage with a .700 slugging percentage.
• Matej had a career game on March 29 at UNLV with a four-hit (4-for-5) day at the plate. She hit a grand slam and a pair of doubles in the contest as she accounted for seven RBIs while scoring two runs and totaling nine bases.
HOT STARTS
Big starts have been one of Utah State's strengths this season, as the Aggies have outscored opponents 43-31 in first innings this season. Utah State has scored first 20 times and has scored in the first inning 17 times.
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 21-18 mark this year, Judge has a chance to become just the fourth USU head coach to post a winning record in their first season, and the first to do so since Lloydene Searle in 1981. The previous nine head coaches at USU have combined for a record of 187-239-1 (.439) in their debut seasons.
