April 3, 2009
Final Stats
Game One Box Score: UNC 9, ISU 1
Game Two Box Score: UNC 8, ISU 6
Game Three Box Score: ISU 7, UNC 4
Greeley, CO --- Jessica Baca went 3-for-4 with three runs batted in as ISU won 7-4 over Northern Colorado, taking the final game of the first tripleheader in program history, one necessitated by a snow storm due to hit Greeley on Saturday. The Bengals dropped game one 9-1, and game two 8-6 before winning game three, progressively getting better as the day went on.
ISU picked up their 12th win of the season by winning game three of the tripleheader 7-4. Down 1-0 in the top of the third, ISU responded with a three-run inning. ISU loaded the bases with one out on a single and stolen base by Caitlin McGrath, a walk to Emily Hu, and a single by Megan Miller. All moved around 60 feet on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1. Baca then singled in her first run of the game to make it 2-1. ISU got a third run when Kaylie Neal-Jones, running for Baca, stole second as the throw sailed into center field, allowing Miller to trot on home.
ISU and UNC traded runs in the fourth before ISU put up another three-spot in the fifth. Hu and Miller both walked, chasing starter Courtney Maihi, but Baca welcomed Jamie Juelfs, who got the save in game two, with a two-run double. She eventually scored on a Brittany Olsin single.
Northern Colorado put up single runs in the fifth and sixth to make it 7-4, but a couple of outfield assists kept UNC from gaining more ground. On a bizarre play in the fifth, right fielder Brittany Olsin threw out Melisa Ryba at the plate from first base on a bunt attempt. In the sixth, Hu, who had moved to left field by this point, threw a runner out pinch runner Nancy Hilbers trying for third. Clesson then got through a 1-2-3 seventh, although that inning saw a goofy situation as well, as starting pitcher Maihi reentered the game as a pinch hitter for her reliever Juelfs, popping out.
UNC won the first two games 9-1 in the first game and 8-6 in a wild second game. Tied at 1-1 in the fourth, the Bears got three in the fifth and then five unearned runs in the sixth after the first two batters were retired to start the inning.
In game two, ISU was down 5-0 in the top of the fifth and hadn't had a hit until Olsin's one-out single that eventually netted ISU two runs as Clesson, who made her second career start at first base, singled in a run, and so did McGrath. UNC answered back on Cristin Martin with three runs in the bottom half to take an 8-2 lead, but ISu got four in the sixth. Megan Miller hit her fourth triple of the year to start things off, and after two walks loaded the bases, Olsin doubled home a pair to make it 8-4. Martin drove in a run on a ground out to make it 8-5, and Clesson improbably singled again, driving in another to make it 8-6.
Juelfs came in for starter Hillary Van Otterloo, and after allowing a single to pinch hitter Merissa Jannsen, she retired the final five hitters she faced for her first save of the year.
The Bengals played the entire day without regular second baseman Krista Armstrong, who was injured during practice prior to the trip. ISU was forced to shuffle things around because of that, with Emily Hu, normally ISU's right fielder, manning second base. Things got crazy in game three, as Hu moved to left to replace McGrath, who has been battling a sore shoulder. That started a domino of moves that moved Jennifer Martensen from third to second, Jannsen from first to third, and Martin, normally a pitcher, from designated player to first base.
Kandis Clesson went 1-1 for the Bengals, allowing seven earned runs in 12.2 innings, along with 17 hits and eight walks, although she struck out six. Martin went 0-1, allowing eight runs, but just four earned in her game. McGrath ahd four hits for ISU, and she was the only player with at least one in every game of the tripleheader. Bcaa and Olsin both had three hits, and they also had three runs batted in, as did Clesson, who had one all season.
Idaho State now heads home to Rainey Park as they play their final 11 games of the season at home, starting with back-to-back double headers against Seattle University, starting at 2:00 pm on Friday.
NOTES: McGrath has hit safely in 16 of her last 17 games ... Miller's four triples is third-best on the ISU charts, and her 39 hits are tied for second-most in school history, seven away from Chris Shoemaker's school record of 46, set in 1979 ... Clesson's 10 wins for the year ties her for fourth on the all-time list, and she needs three to set the record.
