PLAY BALL!
Utah State softball (16-21, 5-7 MW) continues its 2026 campaign with a packed week, playing six games against four opponents at three sites over seven days. The Aggies will host conference-foe Boise State in a doubleheader on Wednesday, April 8, before playing games at UNLV on Saturday, April 11, and Sunday, April 12. USU then returns home to host No. 1 Texas Tech on Monday, April 13, then plays at Weber State on Tuesday, April 14.
FOLLOW ALONG
All home games and conference games this week will be streamed via the Mountain West Network with live stats available via StatBroadcast. The game at Weber State will be broadcast on ESPN+. Links and live updates will be available on the USU softball social media pages and through UtahStateAggies.com.
AGGIES VS THE FIELD
USU and Boise State have met 46 times previously, with the Broncos leading the all-time series 33-13. The Broncos have won five-straight and 22 of the past 24 against USU, including a three-game regular season sweep last season, plus a win over the Aggies in the first round of the MW Tournament.
USU and UNLV have met 73 times previously, with the Rebels leading the all-time series 42-31. UNLV has won seven of the past 11 meetings. Last season, the squads met for a three-game series in Logan, the Aggies winning one of the three.
Monday's game will be the seventh all-time between Utah State and Texas Tech, and the first since 2012. The Red Raiders lead the series 4-2, with USU's last win against TT coming in 1984.
USU and Weber State have met 62 times previously, with the Aggies leading the all-time series 41-21. Utah State has won six of the past 10 against the Wildcats. The sides met three times last season, Weber State taking two of the three.
ICYMI
Utah State is coming off of a 2-1 showing last week on the road against San Diego State, where the Aggies secured their first road series against the Aztecs in program history, and just their fourth series win over SDSU overall.
USU won the first game 4-3, scoring all four of its runs in the final two innings and pulling ahead in the seventh on a double from freshman infielder Jazmin Ramirez. After losing the second game 9-1 in five innings, the Aggies bounced back to secure the series with a 5-4 win on Saturday.
Senior outfielder Kya Pratt led the Aggie bats with a 4-for-9 showing on the week with a home run, a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. In the pitching circle, senior Rylie Pindel earned a run and a save, allowing just six hits and three earned runs across 8.0 innings.
AGGIES VS RANKED OPPONENTS
Texas Tech will come to Logan ranked as the No. 1 team in the country. Against ranked competition, the Aggies last:
- played a ranked team at home against No. 23 Grand Canyon on March 29, 2026 (L, 0-7)
- beat a ranked opponent at home against No. 14 Long Beach State, 3-1 and 1-0, on April 28, 1998
- defeated a ranked opponent anywhere versus No. 19 Baylor, 6-4, on Feb. 8, 2025
- defeated the No. 1 team in the country against No. 1 Washington, 7-4, on Feb. 19, 2010
BIG SERIES WINS
• Utah State opened its conference slate with a series win over Fresno State, taking two of the three contests with a 9-2 victory in the series opener and an 8-4 win in nine innings before falling to the Bulldogs, 6-2, in the series finale. The series win was USU's fourth conference-opening series win in the past five seasons. It was also the Aggies' first series win Fresno State since 2017 and the first in Fresno since 1981.
• The Aggies also earned a series victory over San Diego State, their first series win in San Diego in program history and just the fourth overall against the Aztecs. USU won the first game 4-3, then fell 9-1 in game two before bouncing back with a 5-4 win to take the series.
DON'T EVEN TRY IT
Aggie sophomore catcher Jaelyn Castillo has made life difficult for opposing base runners this season. She currently leads the conference and ranks 38th nationally with nine times catching a runner stealing.
CAN'T STOP KAYLEE
Since returning from an injury suffered early this season, senior catcher Kaylee Erickson has been on a tear. In Mountain West play, Erickson ranks second on the squad in batting average at .371 (13-for-35) with four home runs, six doubles, nine RBIs, eight runs scored and three bases on balls. She has a .886 slugging percentage and a .522 on base percentage during that span.
FLAWLESS FIELDING
Utah State's defense has been strong this season, currently ranking fourth in the Mountain West with a .968 fielding percentage. Six different USU players have a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, while an additional seven more are over .950. Overall, Utah State has just 34 errors on 1,063 chances.
HAVE SOME FAITH!
Utah State sophomore outfielder Faith Kroening is having a major breakout season. After playing primarily as a pinch runner in 2025, totaling just four hits in 30 at-bats for a .133 batting average, Kroening has started all 37 games this season and ranks third on the squad with a .298 batting average (34-for-114).
OUCH! THAT HURT!
Utah State ranks 15th in the nation with 36 times being hit by pitch. Kaylee Erickson and Faith Kroening each rank in the top 10 in the conference in HBPs, ranking second and seventh, respectively, with 10 and seven HBPs.
GOING THE DISTANCE
In nine of Utah State's outings this season, an Aggie pitcher has thrown a complete game. Rylie Pindel leads the way with five complete games, all five of which were USU wins. Her five complete games rank third-most in the Mountain West.
WALK IT OFF!
In Utah State's win over Nevada on March 21, the Aggies won a thriller which was capped off by a walk-off home run for senior catcher Grace Matej. After entering the seventh inning up 4-3 then allowing three Wolf Pack runs in the top of the seventh, USU rallied with a two-run dinger by Kaylee Erickson to tie the game, then the walk-off shot over the center field fence by Matej to win it.
UP NEXT
Utah State will host San José State at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field next weekend for a three-game conference series with games Friday-Sunday, April 17-19. The Aggies will then travel to Utah Valley for a single contest on Tuesday, April 21.
