NOTES - Utah State Softball Concludes Season with Home Series Against San José State

Full Notes (PDF)

Softball 5/1/2024 10:49:00 AM

PLAY BALL!

Utah State softball (22-25, 5-14 Mountain West) concludes its 2024 campaign this week with a three-game conference series at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. The Aggies host the San José State Spartans with games on Thursday, May 2, at 4 p.m., Friday, May 3, at noon, and Saturday, May 4, at noon.

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 SPARTANS

• Utah State and San José State have met up 87 times in a series dating back to 1988. The Spartans hold a 53-34 series advantage, but the Aggies hold a 19-17 lead over SJSU in games played in Logan.

• Last season, the teams met up four times, splitting the regular season series 2-2. The Aggies won a non-conference game in San Jose 5-2 before SJSU took two of the three games of the conference series, winning 2-0 and 9-0 in five innings before Utah State took the final game 7-2 in nine innings. USU has won four of the past seven meetings.

• The Spartans enter the weekend 15-27 overall, with a 4-14 record in Mountain West games to sit at ninth in the league standings. San José State took two games from New Mexico, won one of three over Boise State, was swept in two-game series against Fresno State and Nevada, was swept by San Diego State and Colorado State, and took one of three against UNLV in its most recent series. On the road, the Spartans are 3-11 this season.

ICYMI

• In its most recent series, the Aggies dropped three games to New Mexico in Albuquerque on April 19-21. USU fell 9-6 in the first game, 3-2 in the second and 6-5 in the final contest.

• In the circle, redshirt sophomore Denay Smith and sophomores Hailey McLean and Tess Bumiller got starts. The Aggie pitching staff combined for a 9.00 ERA with 25 hits and 18 earned runs allowed, posting 13 strikeouts with nine walks.

• Junior infielder Ariel Fifita led the Aggie bats, posting a 4-for-9 performance at the plate with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Utah State recorded six extra base hits in the series, including two doubles, a triple and three home runs.

SENIOR SALUTE

Utah State will celebrate the careers of its graduating players prior to Saturday's game, honoring them with a Senior Day ceremony.

• In four years at Utah State, pitcher Jessica Stewart has made 73 appearances and 27 starts in the circle for the Aggies, pitching nearly 200 innings. Stewart saved the best for last, having her best season this year as she ranks in the top 10 in the Mountain West in saves, appearances and games finished, while leading the team in wins, opposing batting average, WHIP and strikeouts.

• After beginning her career with two seasons at Missouri, outfielder Hannah Vargas joined Utah State in 2023 and has spent the past two seasons as an Aggie. Vargas has played an important reserve role in the USU lineup, making 51 appearances with four starts. She earned academic all-Mountain West honors in 2023 and was a Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete recipient.

• Outfielder Ali Ashner joined the Aggies this year for the final season of her career after beginning at Phoenix College, where she was the 2022 NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year, then spending the 2023 season at Arizona. This year for Utah State, Ashner has started all 47 games and ranks fifth on the team with a .305 batting average. She has totaled 36 hits, 19 runs and 13 RBIs this season with five doubles and a pair of home runs.

• Pitcher Katie Zuniga joined Utah State this year for the final season of her career after spending four seasons at Utah Valley. Throughout her career, Zuniga has totaled 124 appearances and 65 starts, throwing over 400 innings with nearly 200 strikeouts. She concludes her career with a 4.67 ERA and 29 wins in the circle.

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 .425 (51-for-120) this year, she is tied for the second-best batting average in program history, tied with Christine Thomsen (2013) and behind only 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 .617 slugging percentage this season, just outside of the program's top 10, while her 51 hits this year are just nine shy of the top 10.

THAT BALL IS GONE-ZALEZ

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 nine moon shots this year, she needs just one more to break into the program's top-10 and three more to break into the top-five. Additionally, she ranks eighth in the MW this season.

AMONG THE BEST

• Along with making Utah State history at the plate, Grace Matej also ranks among the national leaders. Her .425 batting average ranks 27th in the NCAA and leads the Mountain West.

• She also ranks 14th in the MW in slugging percentage (.617).