Broncos Return to Play Against Utah State

Boise State (23-8, 3-6 MW) vs Utah State (13-19, 4-7 MW)- April 12, 4 p.m. MT, Dona Larsen Park | Live Stats | Live Stream
Boise State vs Utah State- April 13, 4 p.m. MT, Dona Larsen Park | Live Stats | Live Stream
Boise State vs Utah State- April 14, Noon MT, Dona Larsen Park | Live Stats | Live Stream

BOISE, Idaho — With a 3-6 record in Mountain West play, the Boise State softball team looks to end a three-game skid against Utah State this weekend. The Broncos will host the Aggies in a three-game series at Dona Larsen Park.

PARKING: Limited parking at Dona Larsen Park will be available for $5 a car all three games of the weekend. Fans are also able to purchase spots for the weekend at the same rate.

Free parking will be available in the East Lot of Albertsons Stadium for Friday's game. A complimentary shuttle will take fans to and from Dona Larsen Park for free. For the Saturday and Sunday games, free parking will be available in the parking lot of the URS Building at 720 E. Park Blvd. Fans wishing to park in the lot must enter the lot from the Front Street entranced, heading west. A shuttle will not be offered from the URS lot for the weekend games.

TICKETS AND PROMOTIONS: Tickets will be $6 for adults, $4 for children (2-18) and seniors (65+). Students with a valid Boise State ID card will receive free admission. Fans are also encouraged to buy a Bronco Sports Pass for $75. The pass will grant entry to all volleyball, soccer, women's basketball, gymnastics, track and field and softball events.

This weekend's series will be Little League weekend. Free admission will be offered to softball/baseball/T-ball players 12-and-under who are wearing their jersey for each game. Fans wearing pink will receive $3 admission to Saturday and Sunday's games as part of Boise State's Breast Cancer Awareness Weekend. The first 50 fans will receive a free pink Bronco t-shirt, while the first 25 fans will receive a pink mini-bat.

Fans who bring their ticket from the April 6 Spring Game will receive free admission to Sunday's game, while a free youth clinic for fans 12-and-under will follow the Sunday game.

SERIES HISTORY: Boise State leads the all-time series against the Aggies, 17-11, and have won five-straight over their southern rival. Last year, the Broncos out-scored Utah State 41-14 behind a pair of 15-run, five-inning games.

SCOUTING REPORT: Currently in the sixth-year under head coach Steve Johnson, Utah State is led at the plate by Bailee Trapp, who is hitting .360 on the year. The Aggies have found a way to hit for power in 2019, with 34 home runs on the season. Trapp's seven homers rank second on the team behind Lexi Orozco's eight.

In the circle, Delaney Hull (84.2) and Kapri Toone (70.1) have logged the majority of the innings for Utah State. The duo has combined for 97 strikeouts.

LOOKING TO GET BACK ON TRACK: At 3-6 on the year, Boise State's title defense has gotten off to a rocky start. The Broncos are coming off of a sweep at the hands of San José State – the first time the Broncos have been swept in Mountain West play since having the Spartans accomplish the same feat during the 2017 campaign (April 13-15). Despite the sweep, the Broncos held their ground against the Spartans, only being out-scored on the weekend by four runs (12-16).

The three-straight losses are only the second time the Broncos have lost consecutive games this season, as they rattled off 17-straight wins following a pair of losses to Northwestern State and Texas (Feb. 8-9) during the opening weekend of play.

BYE WEEK COMING AT THE RIGHT TIME: As the Broncos are looking to end their three-game skid, they gained an added bonus by their losing streak running into the program's bye week from Mountain West play. Originally scheduled to play Idaho State on April 9, Boise State gained an extra day of rest after the game was postponed due to weather.

A SIMILAR TREND?: Despite being below .500 in conference play, Boise State is following a similar trend that led them to the 2018 Mountain West title. Against conference opponents the team has played thus far this season (UNLV, San Diego State and San José State) the Broncos are trending only a game behind last season's 4-5 mark, with an additional loss to the Spartans being the difference.

FIVE CHEERS FOR THE MOUNTAIN WEST: One of the largest deciding factors between the 2018 season and the 2019 season has been the overall strength of the Mountain West. In Monday's release of the RPI, the conference placed five teams in the top 64 of the metric used to help determine at-large bids to the national championship. The Broncos still lead the pack, checking in at 29th in RPI.

Colorado State (32nd), UNLV (37th), San José State (48th) and Fresno State (55th) bolsters the conference's attempt to become a multi-bid league this season, as the Mountain West currently ranks as the seventh-best league in the nation.

GETTING IT DONE AGAINST WINNERS: The Broncos are currently 27th nationally in winning percentage with a 23-8 record (.742). What's most impressive about the team's 31-game start to the season, is Boise State's success against teams with a winning record. The Blue and Orange are 10-6 (.625) against teams with a record of .500 or better this year. The combined winning percentage of Boise State's opponents this season is .545, a mark that is second in the Mountain West.

MAKING PETER BRAND PROUD: Alongside leading the lineup with a batting average of .413, Kora Wade has reached base in 23-consecutive games, currently the longest streak on the team. Her on-base streak dates back to a 2-1 win over Yale, Feb. 23, while she has successfully reached base in 29-out-of-31 games this season. Wade would no-doubt catch the eye of the fictitious MLB executive Peter Brand from the film Moneyball.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kora Wade