By Loren Miller, Utah State Eastern Sports Information
Utah State Eastern softball split its four-game home series against the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles over the weekend.
The bats really came alive for the Eagles against CSI, averaging 11 hits and nine runs per game.
“We have been working on our approach at the plate, where we have been looking for better pitches too hit and we took advantage of that all weekend,” said USU Eastern head coach Ryan Smith.
GAME ONE
The Eagles defeated CSI 13-6 in seven innings in game behind consistent hitting and pitching. USU Eastern opened the game with a monster first inning where it put seven runs.
Sophomore McKenzie Dorney hit a double that drove in three runs to give the Eagles momentum.
“I love her being my teammate, whether it be at second or short or next to me in the lineup; I can count on her to dive for a ball or make contact at the plate,” said USU Eastern pitcher Carlye Levy.
After the second inning, the Eagles added at least a run in each inning to upset the #20 Golden Eagles.
Dorney and Ashley Sweat each had three RBIs for USU Eastern.
“Our energy was super high and our bats were on fire. We were playing loose and it showed on the field,” said Levy.
In the circle, Levy picked up the win after pitching seven innings with eight strikeouts and only gave up six hits.
“Carlye came in and pitched well then followed it up with even better hitting,” said Smith. “She was a big part of getting us going on both sides of the plate this weekend.”
GAME TWO
The Eagles remained hot at the plate and opened game two with a five-run first inning. Levy and Sweat both hit solo home runs in back-to -ack at bats in the first inning.
“It seemed like almost every time Carlye got up to the plate, she got on base. We talk a lot about ‘quality at bats’ and finding a way on and she was a great example of that all weekend,” said Smith.
In the second and third, the Eagles added five more runs to go up 10-4 heading into the top of the fourth.
The Eagles changed pitchers in the fourth inning and immediately the Golden Eagles got hot at the plate by adding seven runs.
“We left a lot of girls on base, we had a few errors, and CSI hit the ball hard a few times. It is definitely a game where we had our chances to get the win and we didn’t,” said Smith.
CSI took a 13-11 lead in the top of the sixth inning and ended up winning the game 14-11 in seven innings.
GAME THREE
The Eagles opened Saturday’s doubleheader with a 10-2 win in six innings over CSI. Levy took care of business in the circle in game three and pitched all six innings and threw six strikeouts and only allowed four hits.
“I had a lot of confidence in my defense behind me and I knew that we could hit on offense and that helped me relax,” said Levy.
At the plate, Levy led the team with three RBIs and three hits. USU Eastern’s McKenna Gubanich, Alicia Cruz and Sweat each had two hits and two RBI’s in game three to help put the Eagles over the top.
“When our offense is on, it’s on. We are definitely a contact team and that helps us win games,” said Levy.
GAME FOUR
In the final game of the series, CSI dominated USU Eastern and won 12-2 in five innings. CSI’s Mailee Jensen shut down the Eagles with five innings of work where she threw five strikeouts and gave up only seven hits.
In the top of the fifth, CSI’s Tristin Evans hit a grand slam to put her team up 12-1 and slammed the door on the Eagles.
USU Eastern is now is 6-21 overall and 4-11 in conference play.
“These two wins were big for us this weekend. The exciting part is we are missing a couple great hitters this weekend. We need to clean up some defense and strengthen our pitching staff a little more,” said Smith. “We do those thing with our progression so far and we could be a team with a ton of potential at the end of the year.”
USU Eastern will head to Ephraim to take on Snow next weekend for their second series of the season. Earlier in the season, the Eagles lost three games to the Badgers in a neutral site.
All four games against Snow will be broadcast on the Scenic West Digital Network at scenicwestnetwork.com.
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- Photos by Jeff Barrett
