Riverside, Calif. – Utah State softball (5-2, 0-0 MW) opened a five-game stint at the Cal Baptist Classic with a pair of wins Friday afternoon at John C. Funk Stadium in Riverside. The Aggies took down Seattle in a 1-0 battle early in the afternoon, before defeating San Diego 5-3 in the second game of the day.
Utah State 1, Seattle 0
In a defensive battle against the Redhawks, it took just a single run to secure the victory. The Aggies earned their first shutout of the season, behind a complete game pitching performance from junior right-hander
Carly Limosnero. In 7.0 innings in the circle, Limsonero threw 100 pitchers to 27 batters. She allowed just five hits, none going for extra bases, and walked just a single Redhawk.
Utah State's lone run came in the second inning. The Aggies loaded the bags before recording a hit in the inning, courtesy of a Seattle error, followed by back-to-back hit by pitches. With two outs on the board, sophomore outfielder
Tatum Silva singled to the pitcher to bring junior infielder
Kenzee Hale home. Hale was serving as a pinch runner for senior infielder
Giselle Gonzalez, who reached on a fielding error by the Seattle shortstop.
The Aggies had success throughout the contest in getting players on base, but eight runners were stranded for USU. Three hits were all it took for USU to earn the win.
Utah State 5, San Diego 3
In the second game of the day, it took just an inning for Utah State to double its scoring output from the earlier contest. In the bottom of the first, junior catcher
Grace Matej reached base after being hit by a pitch, before redshirt junior infielder
Kaylee Erickson delivered a two-out home run over the right center field fence to make it 2-0.
The Torreros' first run came in the top of the third when a bases-loaded walk cut the Aggie lead to a single run, but in the bottom of the fifth, Silva delivered a ball down the left field line to score freshman outfielder
Faith Kroening from third.
Each side registered two more runs in the sixth, San Diego tying the ballgame with a pair of RBI singles, before USU restored its two-run lead in the bottom of the inning on a triple from senior outfielder
Olivia Marble. With the shot to right center, Marble brought home senior infielder/outfielder
Claudia Medina from second and Hale from third. Utah State then sealed the win with a double play in the top of the seventh inning.
In total, the Aggies recorded six hits to San Diego's eight, led by a 2-for-3 performance at the plate by Marble.
Junior right-hander
Rylie Pindel started in the circle and pitched the first 5.2 innings with two strikeouts, three walks and three earned runs, before Limosnero entered in the top of the sixth to take care of the final five batters.
Up Next
Utah State (5-2, 0-0 MW) will continue its play in the Cal Baptist Classic with two more games tomorrow, facing San Diego at 11 a.m. (MT) then California Baptist at 4 p.m. (MT).
For more information on the Utah State softball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @USUSoftball, on Facebook at USUSoftball and on Instagram at ususoftball.
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