OGDEN, Utah – Utah State softball (17-26, 5-11 MW) returned to the win column Tuesday afternoon at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden, defeating Weber State 5-1.

The Aggies wasted no time taking early control, putting three runs on the board in the first inning. A home run from senior infielder Kaylee Erickson, her ninth of the year and the 18th of her career, scored senior infielder Alex Bunton and senior outfielder Kya Pratt to make it a 3-0 game. 

Freshman Kendall Cochran, who got the start in the pitching circle for USU, held the Wildcats without a hit until the fourth inning, and without a run until the sixth. Weber State's lone run of the game came on an error at home plate to cut the lead to 3-1 in the sixth inning. 

In the seventh, Erickson came up big once again. She followed a Pratt double with her second home run of the day, sending one over the left field fence to stretch the Utah State lead to four. Then, in need of three outs to secure the win, the Aggies held Weber State hitless in the seventh. 

In total, the Aggies had 11 hits to Weber State's three, including three-apiece from Pratt and Erickson, who both went 3-for-4 at the plate. Freshman infielder Jazmin Ramirez also had multiple hits, going 2-for-2 with a walk. 

Cochran earned the win in the circle for USU after starting and allowing just three hits and a single run in 6.0 innings while facing 25 batters. Senior Rylie Pindel entered to close things out in the seventh, doing so without allowing a hit. 

UP NEXT
Utah State (17-26, 5-11 MW) will return to action this weekend with a three-game conference series against San José State at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field from April 17-19. All games will be streamed 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 -