FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Utah State softball (17-14, 2-2 MW) opened a three-game conference road series against Colorado State with a 14-9 victory Thursday afternoon at CSU's Ram Field. 
 
The Aggies were tasked with playing from behind early on, after allowing five Colorado State runs to go down 5-0 in the first inning. CSU scored on a pair of RBI singles followed by a three-run shot over the right field fence to take early command, but Utah State was unphased. The Aggies answered with 11-straight runs of their own to take control of the contest. 
 
USU got on the board in the second inning when a single down the left field line by redshirt junior catcher/infielder Kaylee Erickson followed by a throwing error by the CSU third baseman brought two runs across the bag for the Aggies. A triple by senior infielder Ariel Fifita followed, scoring two more runs and pulling Utah State within one at 5-4. 
 
The Aggies pulled ahead in the third with three more runs. First, it was a fielder's choice by Erickson to bring junior catcher Grace Matej home. Then, back-to-back RBI singles from senior infielder Claudia Medina and sophomore outfielder Tatum Silva to make it 7-5. In the fourth, an error followed by a single put two Aggies on base before Matej sent a blast over the wall for a three-RBI home run, her fifth dinger of the year. 
 
USU capped off its streak of 11-straight runs in the fifth inning, when a bases-loaded walk drawn by Matej extended the lead to 11-5. In the bottom of the inning, the Rams scored on a 2-RBI double, their first run since the first inning. Each side scored a single run in the sixth, USU's coming on an RBI single for Silva, CSU's coming on a single up the middle. 
 
With a 12-8 advantage entering the final inning, Utah State tacked on a pair of insurance runs. Senior infielder Giselle Gonzalez doubled to right center field to score senior outfielder Olivia Marble, before a throwing error on a cutoff throw by the Rams allowed Gonzalez to score from second. The Rams scored their ninth and final run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI double. 
 
In total, Utah State recorded 16 hits and left eight runners on the bag, going 16-for-38 (.421) at the plate. Nine different Aggies recorded hits with five players tallying multiple, led by 3-for-4 efforts from Silva and junior outfielder Kya Pratt. Silva had two RBIs and two runs scored, while Pratt scored two runs as well. 
 
Junior right hander Denay Smith earned the win in the circle for the Aggies, pitching the final 6.2 innings with four strikeouts and four earned runs. Junior Rylie Pindel started the contest, facing the first six batters. 
 
Up Next
Utah State (17-14, 2-2 MW) will now remain in Fort Collins for part two of a three-game series against the Rams tomorrow at 4 p.m.
 
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.
 
- USU -