Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
POCATELLO, Idaho- On Friday Idaho State softball coach
Julie Wright enjoyed every minute of her team's play, offensively and defensively. The Bengals won their fifth straight game by beating North Dakota, 10-2 and 19-0. Both games went five innings and the offense hit .582 while the pitching staff finished the day with a 0.00 era.
“Sometimes your team does things that make you so proud and you just enjoy it with them,” Wright said.
Idaho State remains in first place with an 11-3 Big Sky Conference mark and a 25-19 overall record while North Dakota dropped to 10-26 and 2-6.
Idaho State hit nine home runs and recorded 29 RBI as the team was 32-55 overall at the plate.
Vicky Galasso was 6-7 with five runs scored, three home runs and five RBI.
Terah Blackwell was 5-6 with two home runs, four RBI and three runs scored. The two players combined to go 8-8 and score seven runs in the game 2 win.
“Our lineup is tremendously better when
Terah Blackwell is in it,” Wright said. “She is being a little bit overlooked but that young lady makes this offense worlds better.”
Becky Molyneaux was 5-7 with four RBI while
Maddy Hickman and
Amanda Fitzsimmons each had three hits. All of Fitzsimmons hits were home runs as she also had four RBI.
“As far as hitting we are ridiculous good at times,” Wright said. “The ability for our hitters to stay focused in a game like that and continue to hit all the way through even after we got up nine is really impressive. I am really impressed with how my team is taking care of business. They do what they need to do and take care of the things within their control. They know what they want and they are getting after it.”
Fitzsimmons earned the win in game 1, striking out nine, allowing four hits and both North Dakota runs scored in the game were unearned.
Kelsi Ott upped her record to 8-3 as she allowed only two hits, striking out five.
“Our pitching staff was excellent,” Wright said. “I was really impressed with them. Right when we need it most in these last few games our pitching staff has been doing their job. I am proud of them as a whole. It is the defense and pitching that wins championships. That is what we are after.”
Idaho State scored its 10 runs in game 1 on 11 hits, with two runs in the first, three in the fourth and five runs in the fifth. ISU had home runs in the game from Fitzsimmons,
Hailey Breakwell and Galasso.
ISU a set a school record with six home runs in game 2. Fitzsimmons, Galasso and Blackwell each hit two in the game and ISU scored 10 runs in the third inning in the victory.
The Series concludes on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Miller Ranch Stadium. Fitzsimmons, Molyneaux and
Christina Rayner will be honored before the start of the game.
We Are Your Bengals
