Courtesy of Utah State Athletics –
COLLEGE STATION, Texas. – Utah State softball (2-2, 0-0 MW) earned its first win over a top-20 opponent since 2010 on Saturday morning, defeating No. 19 Baylor 6-4 at the Texas A&M-hosted Aggie Classic in College Station. Overall, this was just the team’s sixth ranked win since 2000.
Utah State was led by a heroic performance in the circle from junior right-hander Carly Limosnero, who pitched the full seven innings, facing 34 batters with 108 pitches. Limosnero allowed just two extra base hits in the contest, recording two strikeouts and walking four batters.
After allowing a Baylor run in the top of the first inning, Limosnero escaped a jam to strand three runners and escape the inning relatively unscathed. The Aggies then pounced on the opportunity when junior catcher Grace Matej began the team’s scoring action with a single to left field to bring in senior infielder Ariel Fifita from second. This was the first of three RBI singles by Matej, who had a 3-for-4 showing on the day.
Later in the first inning, a throwing error from first base for the Bears resulted in a run for sophomore outfielder Tatum Silva. With two outs on the board, the Aggies were able to extend their lead to 4-1 on a center field single by senior infielder Giselle Gonzalez, who batted in runs from senior outfielder Olivia Marble and junior infielder Alex Bunton.
Baylor scored a single run in the top of the second inning on a sacrifice fly, but it was met by another RBI single from Matej in the bottom of the inning, this time scoring freshman outfielder Faith Kroening. In the top of the third, the Bears once again brought a single run across, making the score 5-3 until the sixth inning.
In the sixth, a pair of walks put a runner into scoring position for Baylor before a single to center field made it a one-run game, but once again the Aggies answered on a Matej single, a left field shot to bring Kroening in from third. The Bears were able to get the tying run to first base in the seventh inning with just a single out, but a pop up and a ground out ended the game, securing the win for Utah State.
Along with Matej’s three-hit performance, redshirt junior catcher Kaylee Erickson also came up big, going 2-for-4 at the plate. In total, USU recorded 10 hits to Baylor’s nine, each side having two errors in the game.
Up Next
Utah State (2-2, 0-0 MW) remains in College Station to wrap up a five-game stint at the Aggie Classic, facing Purdue tomorrow at 8 a.m. (MT).
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 –
