FRESNO, Calif. – Utah State softball (12-14, 2-0 MW) won its second-straight contest to open Mountain West play, using a four-run outburst in extra innings to outlast Fresno State in nine innings for an 8-4 win on Saturday afternoon at Margie Wright Diamond. 

Freshman Kendall Cochran and senior Rylie Pindel combined to pitch the Aggies through the game. Cochran started and went 6.1 innings, allowing only three earned runs alongside three strikeouts. Pindel then came on in relief to pitch the final 2.2 innings, earning the win while holding the Bulldogs scoreless on only three hits. 

Utah State started the scoring in the first inning as sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening scored on a fielder's choice before senior outfielder Kya Pratt scored from second base off a wild pitch. Both teams then remained scoreless through the fourth inning before Fresno State responded with a run off a sacrifice bunt in the bottom f the fifth inning.

The Aggie offense awoke again in the sixth inning as singles from freshman infielder Kate Vance and junior infielder Keely Gousha preceded another single Pratt to score a pair of runs and give USU a 4-1 lead. After going scoreless in the sixth, the Bulldogs rallied in their final chance at the plate in the seventh, scoring three runs to force the game to extra innings.

After neither side managed to score in the eighth, the Aggies exploded for eight runs in the top of the ninth. Freshman infielder Jazmin Ramirez began the outburst with a single before scoring off a double from senior catcher/infielder Grace Matej. Back-to-back singles from Kroening and Pratt scored a further three runs from Vance, Gousha and freshman catcher/infielder Sofia Trejo to give USU a four-run cushion. In the bottom half, Pindel allowed a two-out double but faced only four batters to preserve the Aggie victory.

Pratt led the Aggies with a career-high four-hit day, also tying her career high with four RBIs.  Vance also set a new career-high with three hits on the day. Kroening, Matej and senior infielder Alex Bunton each recorded multi-hit games as well. 

As a team, Utah State recorded a season-high 16 hits, their most since recorded 17 hits last season against Nevada. 

UP NEXT
Utah State (12-14, 2-0 MW) concludes a three-game series against the Bulldogs tomorrow in Fresno, beginning at 3 p.m. (MT). The game will be streamed for free on Mountain West Network. 

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 -