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ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Idaho State Bengals moved to 3-0 on the season with a 5-4 win over Texas-Arlington and a 7-3 win over Utah Valley in day two of the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah.
Bailey Foster (3-0) was awarded the win in relief in the UTA game and pitched a complete game for the win in the Utah Valley game.
The Bengals continued their heavy hitting, sparked by freshman
Dara Kolar who hit a home run on her first collegiate at-bat.
"It is not surprising that she hit that home run," Head Coach
Julie Wright said. "The great thing about Dara is that she is incredibly hard-working and she makes great adjustments. She has really quick hands and she has a smooth stroke."
The Bengal pitchers have allowed early runs in each game this season but have overcome the early struggles to earn the victory. Wright says that has a lot to do with first-year pitching coach
Jessica Moore.
"The main thing is the strong mentally; the pitchers aren't letting things get to them," Wright said. "They start the game and they might allow a few runs but Jess has helped them work on the mentality. They have a short memory and they keep throwing their game."
The strong pitcher mentality is part of an overall attitude that permeates the Bengal team. This season the team expects to win every game.
"We've been down in every game but everyone is relaxed and we believe in ourselves as hitters," Wright said. "We have a lot of confidence in each other on the defensive end. Our pitchers believe in our defense and our defense believes in our pitchers. When we get down, we're not worried about it. We believe in ourselves to come back. We just keep plugging away and keep adjusting and eventually we pull it out."
The ISU team went through growing pains early last season but the Bengals now have much higher expectations early this season.
"Last season we learned how to win, this season we expect to win," Wright said. "We've been acting like winners since we stepped on campus in August and it is showing on the field."
Idaho State 5, Texas-Arlington 4
With UTA leading 2-0 in the top of the third inning Kolar scored a two-run home run in her first collegiate at-bat to tie the game 2-2.
UTA scored two in the bottom of the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead before the Bengals scored a run in each of the fifth, sixth and seventh inning to pull out the 5-4 win.
With the game tied 4-4
Terah Blackwell hit her first home run of the season to give Idaho State the lead.
The Mavericks went down in order in the seventh to clinch the win for Idaho State.
Idaho State 7, Utah Valley 3
The Bengals took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on a fielder's choice by Blackwell with the bases loaded.
Utah Valley scored a run in the third and two runs in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.
The Bengals cut the lead in the bottom half of the fourth when
Micheala Taylor scored from second on a
Katelyn Marquez single to center field.
The Bengals took the lead in the fifth when Galasso scored on a throwing error. The Bengals added another run in the fifth and three in the sixth to give the Bengals a 7-3 win.
The Bengals play Nevada at 1:30 p.m. tomorrow and Grand Canyon at 4 p.m.
We Are Your Bengals
