March 28, 2009
Box Score
ISU 8, UVU 2 - Game One Box Score
UVU 11, ISU 2 - Game Two Box Score
Orem, UT --- Jessica Baca became the fourth player in Idaho State history to hit two home runs in a game, powering her fifth and sixth homers of the season as Idaho State earned yet another split in softball, this time at Utah Valley, winning game one 8-2. The Bengals lost game two 11-2 in five innings after the long ball this time hurt them, allowing a three-run shot and a grand slam in game two.
Baca joins Christine Shollenberger and Heather Dixon as the only players to hit two home runs in a game, with Dixon doing the deed twice in her career. Baca, who was hit by a pitch in the second, gave ISU a 3-1 lead in the third with her fifth home run of the season. That came after Caitlin McGrath scored after hitting her second triple of the season. Baca's final home run came in the seventh and drove in the final two runs of the game for the Bengals. Idaho State even got a little long ball action off the bench in game one as Cristin Martin, normally a pitcher, came in as a pinch hitter and deposited her second home run of the season over the fence for ISU's first pinch hit homer of the season.
In game two, the long ball worked against ISU, as Amanda Perez homered off of game one winner Kandis Clesson down the left field line in the second for a three-run shot that completed a five run Utah Valley inning. In the Wolverine fourth, Clesson was pulled after a walk loaded the bases with the score 6-2. Martin came in and walked in a run before serving up a grand slam to Jessica Anderson to make it 11-2, which is how the game ended.
ISU got their runs in the second when the speedy Kaylie Neal-Jones came all the way around from first base on an error on Merissa Jannsen's sacrifice bunt, and in the third when a Jennifer Martensen double, her eighth of the year, scored Emily Hu, although Baca was thrown out on a close play at the plate.
Clesson got both decisions to move to 9-10 on the year, and Baca's two home runs give her six on the year, the third-most in school history. Emily Hu had three hits on the day to lead Idaho State, who travel next week to take on Northern Colorado in a three-game set starting on Friday.
NOTES: Martensen doubled in each game, and her eight doubles on the season is one from the single-season ISU record of nine, set by Christine Shollenberger in 2007 ... Baca now leads the team with five multi-RBI games this year, and her 20 RBI this year is tied for fifth all-time in school history for a season.
