COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Utah State softball (0-2, 0-0 MW) opened its season with a pair of losses Thursday at the Texas A&M-hosted Aggie Classic. The Aggies fell to reigning BIG EAST champions in the morning 7-4, before losing to No. 7 Texas A&M 11-5 in the afternoon.
Utah State 4, Villanova 7
Against the defending BIG EAST champion Wildcats, bats on both sides started out hot with each team scoring three runs in the first inning. For the Aggies, it was junior catcher
Grace Matej who recorded the first RBI of the season, as a double to right field scored senior infielder
Ariel Fifita from second to jump out to an early lead. Just a few pitches later, another USU double brought in two more runs, this time it was senior outfielder
Olivia Marble in her Aggie debut bringing home Matej from second and senior infielder
Giselle Gonzalez from third.
Villanova responded quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning to even things up at 3-3, but these were the last runs from either side until the bottom of the fifth inning. The Wildcats pulled ahead with a single and a fielding error in the fifth, then broke things open with a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 7-3.
With their backs against the wall, the Aggies pushed back in the top of the seventh. A four-ball walk for sophomore infielder
Emerson Meggers then a single from senior catcher/infielder
Emerson Meggers set up a run-scoring double from Fifita. That's as close as USU would get though, leaving a pair of runners stranded to fall 7-4.
Junior pitcher
Denay Smith started the day on the mound and pitched the first inning before being relieved by junior
Emmalyn Brinka. Brinka faced 15 batters in 3.1 innings before junior
Rylie Pindel entered to take the Aggies the rest of the way.
Utah State 5, No. 7 Texas A&M 11
In a battle of the Aggies, Utah State held control for 5.5 innings over the seventh-ranked team in the nation before things turned.
Each side posted a single run in the first inning, USU's coming courtesy of a single from junior infielder
Alex Bunton, who drove sophomore outfielder
Tatum Silva in for the early lead. After an answer by the hosts in the bottom of the inning on an unearned run followed by a scoreless second inning, Utah State stretched its advantage to 3-1 when a double from Marble scored runs by Bunton and Fifita.
USU remained on top, using an outstanding performance on the mound from junior right-hander
Carly Limosnero, who kept Texas A&M out of the hit column until the bottom of the fourth inning. Even then, A&M wouldn't pull even until a two-run RBI in the bottom of the fifth inning made it 3-3.
Utah State answered swiftly in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run shot of their own, a home run to left field by Fifita. With a 5-3 lead in hand, things spiraled in the bottom of the sixth when Texas A&M scored eight runs off of three different pitchers, including three-straight batters clearing the outfield fence.
USU recorded 11 hits in the contest, the most against Texas A&M by a non-conference opponent since 2022. This was led by a 3-for-3 effort from Meggers and a 3-for-4 performance by Fifita.
Up Next
Utah State (0-2, 0-0 MW) remains in College Station for three more games this weekend at the Aggie Classic, including a single contest tomorrow when the Aggies face Abilene Christian at 8 a.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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