PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (23-15, 8-2 Mountain West) is set for four home games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field this week as the Aggies will wrap a home-and-home series against Idaho State on Tuesday, April 8, at 4 p.m., then play a three-game Mountain West series against Fresno State on Friday, April 11, at 4 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday April 11 and 12 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 BENGALS
Utah State and Idaho State have met 52 times in a series which dates back to 1976. The Aggies hold a 31-21 advantage in the series, with wins in four of the past five meetings. The teams have met twice already this season, splitting the series — on Feb. 23 in St. George, an 11-7 ISU win, and on March 19 in Pocatello, a 7-5 win for the Aggies. Utah State is 12-8 all-time at home against Idaho.
AGGIES VS BULLDOGS
Utah State and Fresno State have met 70 times in a series which began in 1978. The Bulldogs hold a 53-17 advantage in the series, and swept a two-game series against the Aggies last season in Fresno. In Logan against Fresno State, Utah State is 9-19 all-time.
BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
In the past two weeks 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 seasons prior to this year (2017-24).
Utah State enters this week on an eight-game winning streak in Mountain West play, having earned a three-game sweep at Colorado State, then two-game sweeps against New Mexico and at San José State.
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.
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 33-straight games reaching base. During that streak, she has recorded hits in 24 games.
Fifita also owned the previous record of 24-straight games on-base, set last season.
HISTORIC HITTING
With a .347 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 (.555) and on base percentage (.435) in program history.
RECORD WATCH
Several Utah State program records are on the verge of being broken, as senior infielders Ariel Fifita and Giselle Gonzalez each hone in on history.
Fifita has 114 runs in her career and 44 this season. She needs just one run to match the all-time career mark and two runs to match the season record.
Gonzalez sits just one RBI shy of matching the program record of 49.
SHUT 'EM OUT
In Utah State's win at San José State on April 5, junior right-hander Emmalyn Brinka pitched a complete game shutout, going 7.0 innings in the circle with just two hits allowed. Brinka pitched 5.2 innings before allowing SJSU its first hit. She also walked just a single batter in the contest.
TATUM'S ON A TEAR
In the past two weeks, sophomore outfielder Tatum Silva is having the best stretch of her career at the plate. During that time, she has hit .600 (15-for-25) with six RBIs, nine runs scored, six bases on balls and two stolen bases with just a single strikeout.
EXTRA CREDIT
Utah State has made the most of its at-bats this season, getting extra bases in 129 of its 379 hits. This includes 75 doubles, 10 triples and 44 home runs. Senior infielder Ariel Fifita leads the way with 24 extra base hits (14 doubles, three triples and seven home runs).
USU's 1.97 doubles per game lead the MW and rank third in the nation.
DOMINANT DUBS
In their series at Colorado State March 27-28, the Aggies put together one of the most dominant series sweeps in program history. Utah State out-scored CSU 37-13 over the three games, both its highest-scoring and most lopsided Mountain West series since joining the league in 2014.
This was USU's first three-game conference road sweep of a team since a 2022 sweep at New Mexico, and just the second since 2016.
A GRAND SEASON
Utah State redshirt junior catcher/infielder Kaylee Erickson has hit four grand slams this year, a mark which ranks tied for fifth-most by a player in a season in NCAA history. Three players are tied for the NCAA record of six in a season, while one additional player has five.
Prior to Erickson, just one USU player in program history, Lexi Orozco, had ever hit multiple grand slams in a season (2 in 2019). The program record for grand slams in a year by the entire team was three in 2021.
BY THE NUMBERS
Utah State currently ranks in the top-50 nationally in several key statistics, including: doubles per game (4th - 1.97), hits (7th - 380), hit by pitches (9th - 38), batting average (15th - .348), on base percentage (16th - .436), RBIs per game (23rd - 6.53), scoring (23rd - 6.95), slugging percentage (24th - .556), total runs (28th - 264), double plays (34th - 16), home runs per game (38th - 1.16), triples (42nd - 10) and fielding percentage (49th - .970).
MOUNTAIN BEST
With most of non-conference play in the books, the Mountain West Conference has had one of its best out of league showings in recent history this year. Entering league play last week, seven of the league's nine teams are .500 or better and eight are .450 or better. The squads have combined for a 143-94-1 (.603) record in non-conference play.
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 (3.29), while also recording 44 putouts.
Fifita is batting a team-best .415 (54-for-130) entering the week, while 24 of her 54 hits have resulted in extra bases. Her .415 batting average ranks 99th nationally and third in the MW. She also ranks 11th nationally in doubles (14) and 23rd in hits (54). Her .731 slugging percentage ranks seventh in the MW, and her .525 on base percentage ranks second in the league.
THAT HURT!
Utah State leads the Mountain West and ranks ninth in the nation with 38 times being hit by a pitch this season. Senior infielder Ariel Fifita leads the Aggies with eight HBPs taken on the year.
EXPERIENCED SQUAD
Of the 25 players on Utah State's roster this season, 16 are upperclassmen. This includes six seniors and 10 juniors.
UP NEXT
Utah State will travel to Reno for a three-game series against current league co-leader Nevada with games April 17-19.
