Photo by Jeff Barrett
By Graciee Christiansen, USU Eastern Athletics
After a not so successful first weekend of conference play and a postponed series, the Lady Eagles were able to get back in their groove this past weekend.
During the opening weekend of conference games, the Eagles went 1-3 with the Salt Lake Community College Bruins. During their first series, they struggled getting their bats warm enough to put runs on the board. Granted, they were able to walk away with one win, but it wasn’t like our Lady Eagles from earlier in the season to not put up a better fight.
The weekend to follow, the ladies were supposed to be on the road against Snow College. However, due to weather and inclement field conditions, the series was canceled with hopes to play later this spring.
With a rough start to the 2023 spring season, the USU Eastern softball team was able to break the ice with four wins this past weekend against Colorado Northwestern Community College. The Eagles traveled to Vernal to face the Spartans for the series.
The Eagles’ pitching staff was able to walk away with a total of only 10 hits and hold the Spartans to two combined runs all weekend. Sophomores Sydney Smith and Preslee Christensen were able to work together to create a no hitter in game two.
With all hands on deck to ensure a successful weekend, pitching wasn’t the only thing working for the Eagles. The USU Eastern offense was able to grind out 101 runs in only four short games to five innings.
Multiple players contributed with extra base hits as there was a total of 21 home runs and 12 triples. Although everyone was instrumental in the scoring frenzy, Kalsey Lopes was able to walk away with six of the 21 home runs while Brinley Johnson added five.
The Lady Eagles will prepare for the upcoming series against College of Southern Idaho, which will be played March 24 and 25, hopefully at home. Due to the strong winter, the ladies have been unable to play or even practice on their home field. With any luck, the weather will cooperate and help the Eagles get ready for their upcoming games, especially where they are a couple weeks short of being halfway through the season.