Photo by Jeff Barrett
By
Game 1
Utah State University Eastern (USUE) defeated Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) in five, 29-4, in the opening game of a four-game series last week.
Freshman Shayna Alofipo was clutch at the plate for the Lady Eagles, driving in four on three hits. She had a home run in the first and third innings. USU Eastern earned the victory despite allowing four runs in the fourth.
The Lady Eagles opened up by scoring four in the first inning when Alofipo homered, scoring two runs. Eastern scored 12 runs in the second inning. Freshman Marisa Bowman, freshman Jenna Sutliff, sophomore Regan Bossow, sophomore Nyah DeRyke, sophomore Josie Hiatt and freshman Morgan Tanner all drove in runs in the frame.
DeRyke was the winning pitcher for USU Eastern. She went three innings, allowing zero runs on one hit and striking out one. Freshman Malorie Luck threw two innings in relief.
USU Eastern launched six home runs in the game. Sutliff went deep in the second, freshman Minerva Cruz in the third, Tanner in the second, Alofipo in the first and third, and DeRyke in the second.
The Lady Eagles racked up 22 hits on the day. Bowman, Alofipo, Tanner, DeRyke, Bossow, freshman Syndee Smith and Cruz all managed multiple hits. Tanner, Alofipo and Bowman each managed three hits to lead USUE. The Lady Eagles had 55 plate appearances, 46 at bats, a team average of .478 and a slugging percentage of 1.000.
Highlights:
- Shayna Alofipo hit two home runs
- USUE had a 12-run second inning
- Nyah DeRyke allowed zero runs
- USUE had six home runs
“It was a great team win. We did a good job at putting pressure on their defense and scoring a lot of runs along with out clean defense,” said head coach Shelby Shurtliff,
Game 2
Freshman Marisa Bowman led the Lady Eagles to a 24-8 victory over the CNCC Spartans in game two.
Bowman wasted no opportunities at the plate, driving in six on three hits to lead USU Eastern. Bowman drove in runs on a sacrifice fly in the second as well as home runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
There was plenty of action on the base paths for the Lady Eagles as they collected 23 hits. USU Eastern took the lead for good with five runs in the second inning. In the second, freshman Gigi Canales hit a solo home run, Bowman’s sac fly scored one, freshman Minerva Cruz singled, scoring one, freshman Morgan Tanner singled, scoring one, and freshman Jenna Sutliff doubled, scoring one.
USU Eastern scored eight runs in the third. The offense was led by sophomore Josie Hiatt, Bowman, freshman Madie Luck and Canales, all driving in runs in the frame. CNCC scored four runs in the third inning.
Luck got the win for USU Eastern. She lasted five innings, allowing eight hits, eight runs and striking out five.
The Lady Eagles hit eight home runs in the game. Freshman Alex Deming had a home run in the fourth, Cruz in the first, Tanner in the first, Canales in the second, freshman Sydnee Smith in the fourth and Bowman in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
USUE racked up 23 hits. Smith, Bowman, Cruz, Canales, Sutliff, Deming, freshman Malorie Luck, Hiatt and Tanner all collected multiple hits for the team. Cruz, Bowman and Smith each collected three hits to lead the Lady Eagles. USU Eastern had 45 plate appearances, 42 at bats, a team average of .548 and a slugging percentage of 1.214.
Highlights:
- Marisa Bowman had three home runs
- The Lady Eagles had 23 hits
- Madie Luck struck out five
- The Lady Eagles had eight home runs
“We adjusted well at the plate and found the long ball again and it was fun seeing everyone hit,” coach Shurtliff said.
Game 3
USU Eastern blew past CNCC 10-3 in game three.
Despite a slow start, the Lady Eagles found their bats in the third inning. USU Eastern then notched four runs in the fourth inning. Freshman Shayna Alofipo and freshman Minerva Cruz each had RBIs in the frame.
Freshman Emma Marchant was the winning pitcher. She surrendered three runs on eight hits over seven innings, striking out eight.
The Lady Eagles smacked two home runs during the game. Freshman Jenna Sutliff went for the long ball in the seventh inning and Luck also had one in the seventh. USU Eastern tallied 13 hits. Luck, Alofipo, freshman Marisa Bowman, Sutliff and Cruz all managed multiple hits for the Eagles. Alofipo and Luck each collected three hits to lead the team.
USU Eastern had 38 plate appearances, 35 at bats, a team average of .371 and a slugging percentage of .686.
Highlights:
- USUE tallied 13 hits
- Emma Marchant struck out eight
- USUE scored four runs in the fourth
“Even though we were behind, we did a good job at not getting down and trusting ourselves to come through and we did,” said coach Shurtliff.
Game 4
Freshman Morgan Tanner led the Lady Eagles to a 18-4 win over CNCC in game four.
Tanner showed timely hitting, driving in six runs on three hits to lead USU Eastern. Tanner drove in runs on a home run in the first, a double in the fourth and a home run in the fourth.
CNCC scored four runs in the fourth, but the Lady Eagles still managed to pull away with the win.
USU Eastern opened up scoring in the first inning when Tanner homered, scoring three runs. The Lady Eagles scored eight runs in the fourth. The big inning was led with singles by freshman Madie Luck, Shayna Alofipo and Marisa Bowman, home runs by Bowman and Tanner, and doubles by Tanner and sophomore Nyah DeRyke.
Freshman Grace Jenkins was the winning the pitcher for the Lady Eagles. She allowed three hits and four runs over five innings, striking out three.
USU Eastern launched four home runs in the game. Freshman Minerva Cruz went for the long ball in the second inning, Tanner in the first and fourth, and Bowman in the fourth. The Lady Eagles tallied 17 hits. Sophomore Josie Hiatt, Tanner, Bowman, Luck, Cruz and Alofipo each managed multiple hits for USU Eastern. Tanner and Hiatt both had three hits to lead the team. USU Eastern had 36 plate appearances, 33 at bats, a team average of .515 and a slugging percentage of 1.091.
Highlights:
- USUE had an eight-run fourth inning
- The Lady Eagles collected 17 hits
- USUE totaled four home runs
“Our pitchers did a good job at keeping their hitters off balance and we had their backs by putting up runs,” coach Shurtliff said.
USU Eastern will take the field again this Friday, April 23 at 1 p.m. against Salt Lake Community College, in Taylorsville, Utah.