April 7, 2007

Box Score |  Photo Gallery 

LOGAN, Utah - Seniors Jami Uragami and Jamie Fife belted home runs in consecutive innings to pave the way for a 7-5 win for Utah State over Nevada in the second game of Saturday's Western Athletic Conference softball doubleheader at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. USU rallied from a 5-0 deficit to earn the win in USU head coach Candi Letts' 700th career game. The Aggies lost game one of Saturday's twin bill, 6-2.

Uragami had a career day by belting her first career HR and logging a career-high three RBI on the day with a 2-3 effort. Fife belted her fifth HR as part of her 2-3 outing with two RBI and a pair of runs scored.

Utah natives Uragami (Roy, Utah) and Fife (Harrisville, Utah) helped the Aggies snap their two-game losing skid, improving to 11-23 overall and 1-5 in WAC play. USU nabbed its first conference win in its sixth league game, compared to the first WAC win coming in last year's 12 league game. The 11-23 ledger matches USU's record through 34 games of the 2000's, tying the 2000 and 2005 squads.

The win snapped a pair of Nevada win streaks, as the Wolf Pack had their 11-game overall win streak snapped, and their 11-game win streak over Utah State, as Saturday's game was the Aggies' first win over the Wolf Pack since 1989. Nevada now holds a 13-12 lead in the series. Nevada, the defending WAC Tournament champs, are now 18-25 overall and 3-6 in WAC action.

Utah State University President Stan Albrecht threw out Saturday's ceremonial first pitch, maintaining USU's Administrator No-Hitter after Aggie Athletic Director Randy Spetman threw out Friday's first pitch.

Game one saw Nevada score two in the top of the first, before USU plated a run in the home half of the frame on a sac fly by senior CF Ashley Bellum.

The Wolf Pack hung four on the board in the fourth, with the big blow coming on a three-run home run by Brittany Puzey.

USU rallied with a run in the sixth on a double by Fife, who later scored on a single by junior SS Tara Evans, for the Aggies' final score.

Senior 1B/DH Jamie Fife belted her fifth HR of the year in USU's 7-5 win over Nevada Saturday, part of her 3-5 effort on the day.

In the second game, Nevada plated three runs in the top of the first and two more in the top of the third to take a 5-0 lead.

The Aggie bats were stymied without a hit through three innings by Nevada pitcher Katie Holverson, until Fife started the rally with an infield single. Sophomore DH Aubrie Stroman then laced a double down the right field line to the fence, plating Fife. Evans followed with a single to right and later stole second.

With Uragami at the plate, Stroman strayed off third a bit to much, drawing a throw from catcher Katie Stith to Kelsey Starr at third, but Stroman scampered home and under Stith's tag to score. Uragami then belted a two-run home run to left center, to pull Utah State within, 5-4.

USU's defense came through for the Aggies in the top of the fifth, as Uragami threw out Sam Bias trying to steal third, and then Uragami and Fife hooked up to pick Vanessa Briones off of first.

In the Aggie fifth, junior 3B Amy Schaible singled to center and later stole second. Two batters later, Fife smacked a homer to left to put USU ahead for the first time all weekend at 6-5.

Both USU head coach Candi Letts and senior C Jami Uragami had big days Saturday, in the Aggies' 7-5 win over Nevada. Letts coached her 700th career game and Uragami had her first career HR and a career-high three RBI.

Nevada's sixth inning saw the Wolf Pack load the bases off freshman P Stacey Ellingsworth, who had come on in relief of senior Lexy Perry in the fifth. With two outs, Ellingsworth got Puzey to ground out to USU freshman 2B Nicole Rupp to end the rally and the inning.

Evans led off USU's sixth with a single to center, and advancing to third after an error on the pick off attempt by Stith. Uragami followed with a double off the base off the fence in center field for her third RBI of the day.

Nevada advanced a runner to second with one out, but Ellingsworth got the final two outs to log her second win of the season, moving to 2-9 on the year.

Uragami, Evans and Fife all had two hits, while Schaible and Stroman each had one, as Schaible takes over the longest active hitting streak with four games, and pushes her average back over .300 (.306), after it had slipped below that mark for the first time this season.

The Aggies head to Pocatello, Idaho to tangle with the Bengals of Idaho State on Tuesday, April 10 for a non-conference doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. USU then returns home to resume WAC action, hosting Louisiana Tech in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday, April 13-14. Friday's single-game starts at 3 p.m. with Saturday's twinbill slated for 1 p.m.

Admission to all home USU softball games is free to the public.

-USU-