Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Idaho State Bengals defeated San Diego 5-2 and Utah State 9-4 Friday in the opening day of the Highlander Classic in Riverside, Calif. The Bengals have won five straight games to extend their record to 11-7.
Kacie Burnett led the Bengals with eight hits in nine at-bats for two RBIs.
Vicky Galasso was three-for-seven with a home run, her eighth of the season, and four RBIs.
Haley Douglas pitched a gem against San Diego. She allowed seven hits in her complete game but not a single earned run crossed the plate.
Jessica Tolmie earned her first win as a Bengal, against Utah State, in relief. She struck out three in four no-hit innings.
Idaho State 5, San Diego 2
Burnett and Galasso had two RBIs each and Douglas pitched six shutout innings to lead Idaho State to a 5-2 win over San Diego.
The Bengal offense struggled to get on the board early in the game. Idaho State had only four base runners in the first four innings.
The Toreros scored two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-0 lead.
The Bengals got the bats going in the fifth inning. Galasso singled to score Burnett and
Micheala Taylor and tie the game at two.
The Bengals had a two-out rally scoring three runs in the top of the sixth inning.
Katee Wiley singled to left field to score
Gabby Lopez.
Burnett singled in the next at-bat to score Taylor and Wiley to give the Bengals a 5-2 lead.
The Toreros had two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh inning but Douglas retired three of the next four batters to earn our win.
Idaho State 9, Utah State 4
Burnett was five-for-five to lead Idaho State to a 9-4 win over Utah State in the second game of the day.
Burnett's consistent hitting set the table for Galasso,
Terah Blackwell and
Hailey Breakwell to give the Bengal offense the punch it needed to defeat the Aggies. All three tallied two RBIs in the game.
The Bengals scored three runs before the Aggies were recorded their first out of the game.
Burnett and Marquez each singled to set the table for Galasso. The reigning Big Sky MVP doubled off the base of the wall in right center to score Burnett and advance Marquez to third.
With Blackwell at the plate the Utah State couldn't find the catcher's glove and Marquez scored on the wild pitch.
Blackwell then singled to score Galasso and give the Bengals the 3-0 lead.
The Aggies scored two in the bottom of the first but the Bengals answered in the top of the second when Blackwell singled to drive in Marquez and give the Bengals a 4-2 lead.
Utah State tied the game with two runs in the bottom of the third before the Bengal bats again found their groove.
Burnett singled to get on base and was advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Marquez. She advanced on a wild pitch before scoring on another wild pitch to give ISU a 5-4 lead.
"Kacie had a tremendous day," Wright said. "She went 8-9 with three stolen bases and in the field she made a diving catch. You can't ask for much more than that."
ISU took a 7-4 lead when Breakwell hit a two-RBI single to center field, scoring Galasso and Blackwell.
The Bengals added two more runs in the top of the fifth on Galasso's eighth home run of the season, a blast to center field.
Tolmie replaced
Bailey Foster in the fourth inning with the game tied at four.
Tolmie walked two and struck out three in four no-hit innings for the Bengals.
"Our pitching staff did a great job on the mound today," Wright said. "I was very pleased with Jessica Tomie's outing. She has been working hard to fix a few things that showed today."
"Today was a very impressive day for us," Head Coach
Julie Wright said. "Both San Diego and Utah State are good softball teams. I am really proud of our performance today."
The Bengals play tournament host UC Riverside at 3 p.m. (MST) tomorrow in their only game of the day.
Live stats will be available
here.
We Are Your Bengals
