Box Score
ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Idaho State Bengals fell 6-3 to Nebraska Omaha Sunday morning in ISU's final game of the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah.
The Bengals failed to get their potent offense going early against UNO's Dana Eslasser. Eslasser had not allowed a single run for the entire tournament before facing the Bengals.
Haley Douglas allowed two runs in the first inning to give the Mavericks the advantage. Douglas was replaced in the second inning by
Bailey Foster.
The 2-0 lead held through the next four innings until UNO scored two more runs to gain a 4-0 advantage in the top of the fifth.
The Bengals finally got the offense going in the sixth when
Kacie Burnett singled to center, which drove in
Katelyn Marquez.
Vicky Galasso was then walked and
Terah Blackwell singled to drive in Burnett.
Maddy Hickman grounded out to first base but Galasso scored to cut the deficit to 4-3.
The Mavericks scored twice in the top of the seventh to earn some insurance and a 6-3 lead.
The first two ISU batters in the seventh grounded out but
Michaela Barr got on base with a single to third.
The Mavericks tallied the final out on when Marquez lined out to third base.
"I think that getting three runs off of a pitcher like that should be enough to win," Head Coach
Julie Wright said. "Our defense didn't play well. There are things that didn't show up on the box score that really hurt us."
On top of the defensive struggles Foster showed some fatigue late in the game.
"Bailey pitched pretty well but she left a couple of pitches up and was punished for them," Wright said.
Despite the loss, the Bengals went 5-1 in the tournament, a mark that Wright is happy with.
"We went five and one, in this tournament, against this competition was a great start," Wright said. "I was really pleased with the pitching staff's effort. I was really proud of Douglas, Foster and Tolmie's performance in the circle. They got better with every outing."
Wright was also impressed with the attitude of the team.
"This team enjoys each other and has great team chemistry," Wright said. "It should be a really fun year."
The Bengals have a week off before playing in the Diamond Devil Invitational Tempe, Ariz. on February 21-23.
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