PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (25-20, 10-6 Mountain West) concludes the home portion of its 2025 slate this weekend with a three-game series at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field against UNLV. The Aggies and the Rebels will open the series on Friday, April 25, at 4 p.m., then face off on Saturday, April 26, and Sunday, April 27, at noon.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for all of this weekend's games will be available via Statbroadcast, while all games will be streamed for free 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 REBELS
Utah State and UNLV have met 70 times in a series which dates back to 1981. The Aggies trail 30-40 in the series, with seven of the past 10 results going UNLV's way. The teams met for three games last season in Las Vegas, the Rebels earning a sweep with a 7-3 win, a 14-13 nine-inning victory, and a 12-3 win in five innings. Utah State is 12-14 all-time in Logan against UNLV.
ALMOST TOURNAMENT TIME
With just six games remaining in the regular season, Utah State needs one more win to clinch a spot in the Mountain West Softball Championship. This year's tournament will take place in San Diego from May 7-10. Six of the league's nine teams qualify for the double elimination field, with the top two seeds earning first-round byes.
This would be USU's first post-season softball since the 2016 National Invitational Softball Championship, and first conference tournament action since the 2011 WAC Tournament.
SENIOR SALUTE
Prior to Sunday's contest, Utah State will celebrate Senior Day as it recognizes its six graduating seniors. Those honored during the ceremony include catcher Lyndsey Madrigal, infielders Ariel Fifita, Claudia Medina and Giselle Gonzalez, and outfielders Olivia Marble and Brooklyn Pritchett.
DINGERS FOR DAYS
Utah State has already shattered its previous program record for home runs in a season. The Aggies enter the weekend with 61 four-baggers including 10 in last week's series against Nevada, surpassing the previous record of 50 set in 2016.
Senior infielder Giselle Gonzalez has hit a team-best 16 moonshots this year, setting a new single season program record as she surpassed the previous mark of 15 set by Gabriella Jimenez in 2022.
WINNING INNING
In Utah State's 14-4 win over Nevada on April 19, the Aggies put together the highest-scoring inning in program history. Trailing 4-1 through three, USU then scored 13 runs in the fourth inning to take control of the game. The Aggies then held Nevada scoreless in the bottom half of the fourth and fifth to earn a run-rule victory.
HISTORIC HITTING
With a .345 team batting average this season, Utah State is on track for its best hitting season in program history. Currently, the team batting average record is .310 in 1996. USU is also on track to post its best slugging percentage (.571) and on base percentage (.434) in program history.
The Aggies have already broken the program records for runs with 317 this year (previous record was 283 in 2022), RBIs with 297 (259 in 2016) and total bases with 732 (701 in 2016).
USU is approaching several season records, including hits (have 443, the record is 479 in 1996), doubles (have 82, record is 86 in 2016) and walks (have 162, record is 177 in 2022).
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
This season alone, Utah State has swept three series against Mountain West opponents. This is equal to the number of conference sweeps the team had in the eight combined seasons prior to this year (2017-24).
FINDING A WAY
Senior infielder Ariel Fifita continues to add her name to the Utah State record book, as she holds the longest on-base streak in program history with 40-straight games reaching base. During that streak, she has recorded hits in 29 games.
Fifita has shattered the previous program record of 24-straight games on-base, which she set last season.
RECORD WATCH
Several major program season and career records have gone down this season at the hands of the senior infield duo of Ariel Fifita and Giselle Gonzalez.
Fifita has set program records for runs both in a career (122) and season (52). She also ranks in the top-10 in career batting average (8th - .335), season batting average (7th - .400), season total bases (5th - 108), career total bases (8th - 265), season walks (4th - 28), season slugging percentage (2nd - .720), career slugging percentage (8th - .539), career home runs (7th - 22), career RBIs (9th - 94), season hits (10th - 60) and season doubles (5th - 15).
Gonzalez owns both the single season RBI record with 58, and season home run record with 16 this year. She also ranks among all-time leaders in season total bases (6th - 107), season slugging percentage (1st - .754), career slugging percentage (3rd - .605), career batting average (10th - .333), career home runs (5th - 29) and career RBIs (7th - 109).
MARATHON DUB
The first half of Utah State's doubleheader against New Mexico on April 2 took 12 innings to determine a winner, a game finally decided by a leadoff triple for sophomore outfielder Tatum Silva, followed by a walk-off hit for senior infielder Ariel Fifita. This was the longest game for USU since a 2009 13-inning thriller at Cal Poly.
TATUM'S ON A TEAR
Since the start of conference play, sophomore outfielder Tatum Silva has been on fire at the plate. During that stretch, she leads the team with a .476 (20-for-42) batting average while also totaling nine RBIs, 13 runs, five walks drawn and just three strikeouts.
EXTRA CREDIT
Utah State has made the most of its at-bats this season, getting extra bases in 155 of its 443 hits. This includes 82 doubles, 12 triples and 61 home runs. Senior infielder Ariel Fifita leads the way with 27 extra base hits (15 doubles, three triples and nine home runs).
USU's 1.82 doubles per game lead the MW and rank eighth in the nation. The team's 1.36 home runs per game rank second in the MW and 23rd in the nation.
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah State currently ranks in the top-50 nationally in several key statistics, including: doubles per game (8th - 1.82), hit by pitches (8th - 47), hits (9th - 444), batting average (14th - .346), on base percentage (16th - .435), slugging percentage (16th - .571), RBIs per game (20th - 6.60), total runs (21st - 317), scoring (23rd - 7.04), home runs per game (23rd - 1.36), double plays per game (37th - 0.44), triples (45th - 12) and sacrifice bunts (47th - 32).
FIFITA'S ON FIRE
Utah State senior infielder Ariel Fifita has been one of the top hitters in the country this season, as well as one of the top shortstops. Fifita currently leads the nation in assists per game (3.24), while also recording 54 putouts.
Fifita is batting a team-best .400 (60-for-142) entering the week, while 27 of her 60 hits have resulted in extra bases. Her .400 batting average ranks 125th nationally and fifth in the MW. She also ranks 23rd nationally in doubles (15) and 50th in hits (60). Her .720 slugging percentage ranks seventh in the MW, and her .513 on base percentage ranks fourth in the league
THAT HURT!
Utah State leads the Mountain West and ranks eighth in the nation with 47 times being hit by a pitch this season. Senior infielder Ariel Fifita and junior catcher Kaylee Erickson each lead the Aggies with nine HBPs taken on the year.
RYLIE WIN-DEL
Utah State junior right-hander Rylie Pindel is 10-1 in the circle entering the week, ranking sixth in the Mountain West in total wins.
UP NEXT
Utah State will conclude its regular season next week in Boise as the Aggies hit the road to face Boise State in a three-game series against the Broncos with games May 1-3.
