COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Utah State softball (1-1, 0-0 MW) opened its 2026 campaign by splitting a pair of games at the Aggie Classic Thursday afternoon in College Station. The Aggies earned a six-inning run-rule victory in the afternoon, defeating Abilene Christian 8-0, before falling in the evening to No. 11 Texas A&M 9-1.
Utah State 8, Abilene Christian 0 (6 innings)
A near-perfect performance in the pitching circle by senior Emmalyn Brinka helped the Aggies open the season with a shutout victory, as the right-hander earned the complete game shutout after six dominant innings. Brinka not only kept the Wildcats off the board, she was throwing a perfect game though five innings after sending 15 batters up and down. A single walk and a bunt in the sixth inning were the only forms of offense Abilene Christian saw, as Brinka dealt a career-high seven strikeouts.
After three scoreless innings for each side to open the contest, the Aggies opened the scoring in the fourth inning with a two-run shot over the left field fence by senior catcher Kaylee Erickson, who followed a single by freshman infielder Kate Vance for a two-run home run. This was one of a team-best three hits for Erickson, who went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBIs.
The Aggies tacked on two more runs to make it a 4-0 lead in the fifth inning. First, it was Vance tallying her second hit of the day in her collegiate debut, a center field double to bring sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening in from second. Vance rounded home herself shortly thereafter on a hit from Erickson.
In the sixth inning, USU was able to double its lead to avoid a seventh inning, adding four more wins to its total. Back-to-back walks drawn to open the inning by senior infielder Alex Bunton and freshman infielder Jazmin Ramirez set up a sacrifice bunt for sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening to make it a 6-0 game. Two more walks followed before a double down the left field line by senior outfielder Kya Pratt ended the game short with a run rule.
Utah State 1, No. 11 Texas A&M 9 (5 innings)
Early mistakes set up for an uphill battle for Utah State against the No. 11 team in the nation. The hosts put three runs on the board in the first inning after a walk followed by a throwing error put a Texas A&M runner on third before recording a hit. A double then a two-run homer quickly turned it into a 3-0 game before USU forced a single out.
In the second inning, a strong hit down the left field line turned into an RBI double for Bunton, scoring Erickson, who reached base after being hit by a pitch. Utah State nearly added a second run to the board with a hit to center field, but after a replay review it was ruled the runner left early, wiping the run off the board.
USU struggled to generate offense the rest of the way, being held without a hit through the next three innings. On the flip side, Texas A&M added two runs to the board in the third, before ending the game early with a grand slam in the bottom of the fourth inning. In need of a run to stay alive, Utah State went down in order in the fifth.
Utah State utilized four different pitching arms in the contest. Senior Rylie Pindel started and was relieved in the first inning after three earned runs by freshman Jordyn Lish, who came in to throw a team-high 2.1 innings, facing 12 batters with two earned runs. In the third, senior Denay Smith entered to take on the next six batters with four earned runs, before senior Sydney Saldaña took USU the rest of the way.
Up Next
Utah State (1-1, 0-0 MW) will remain in College Station for day two of the Aggie Classic tomorrow. USU will play a single game, facing Abilene Christian once again at 6 p.m. (MT). The game will not be streamed, but will have live stats available on utahstateaggies.com
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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