April 18, 2009
Box Score
Game One: Idaho State 5, Northern Colorado 0
Game One: Idaho State 10, Northern Colorado 2
Pocatello, ID --- Idaho State softball entered the weekend series against Northern Colorado looking for a little redemption after dropping four of five games earlier this year. Mission accomplished. Idaho State got a complete game shutout from Kandis Clesson in game one, and then put up an eight-run third inning in game two as they swept the Bears 5-0 and 10-2 to complete a three-game weekend sweep.
The Bengals got a brilliant performance in the circle in game one, as Clesson picked up her 14th win of the year, extending her school record. She allowed just three singles, and only one over the final four innings. The Bears threatened just once, getting a one-out walk by Noel Wees and an infield single by Erin Geddes, but Clesson struck out Jessie Schoepflin, one of her four strikeouts, and then forced Northern Colorado's top hitter Melisa Ryba to ground out back to her to end the inning.
ISU went down in order in the first two innings, but got two runs in the third. Brittany Olsin started it with a triple to deep right, and after a walk to Krista Armstrong put runners on the corners, Caitlin McGrath singled home Olsin, and Armstrong went to third. Emily Hu then hit a safety squeeze to score Armstrong to make it 2-0.
ISU tacked on one more in the fifth when Whitney Chaffe scored an unearned run after a walk and an RBI ground out by Miller. ISU put it away in the sixth when Jennifer Martensen hit a home run over "Big Black", the manual scoreboard in left to make it 4-0. Olsin followed that with a run-scoring single, her third hit of the game, to plate Jannsen, who doubled off Big Black as well.
That was more than enough for Clesson, who earned her second career shutout, and first of the season.
In game two, it was more offense as for the third time this season, the Bengals scored eight in an inning, this time the third to erase a 2-1 deficit. ISU sent 13 to the plate in the inning, and got eight runs on six hits, three walks and a hit batter. Emily Hu singled to start it, and Megan Miller followed likewise to put the first two on. Jessica Baca walked to load the bases, and then Martensen singled home a run to tie the game at 2-2. Jannsen and Olsin then both drew bases loaded walks to make it 4-2, and after a pop out, Cristin Martin, who pitched game two, was hit by a pitch to make it 5-2.
Caitlin McGrath, who extended her hitting streak to 11 games, then singled home two runs, and after the bases got reloaded, Baca plated the seventh and eighth runs of the inning with a single. ISU got a 10th run in the fourth when Krista Armstrong singled home Olsin, who tripled for the second time on the day.
ISU took a 1-0 lead in the first without a hit, as Hu walked, moved to second on a ground out and then scored on a throwing error. Northern Colorado answered back with two in the second off of Martin, who looked strong the entire game except for a shaky second. Kelli Henderson reached on an error, and Hillary Van Otterloo doubled to put runners on second and third. After a strikeout, Erin Wilkinson doubled down the line to give UNC a 2-1 lead.
Martin got out of it when Alex Neely flied out to center, and Wilkinson advanced, only to be called out when ISU appealed that she left early. Martin cruised from there, allowing just four hits and striking out four, walking none in getting her fourth win of the season.
For ISU, Olsin was the big story with her four hits, including her first two triples of the year. McGrath had three hits for ISU as well. For the series, ISU allowed just two earned runs in 19 innings. Idaho State, now 18-19, takes on Boise State in a doubleheader at Rainey Park on Tuesday at 1:00 pm.
NOTES: McGrath is now batting .392, and has hit safely in 21-of-22 games ... Clesson's ERA is down to 3.11 ... Martensen's homer over the scoreboard was the first one to clear only the scoreboard, but not the old fence behind it. The play would have probably been a double last year.
