Bengal Softball Hosts Northern Colorado in Easter Weekend Series

Notes l Live Video l Live Audio l Live Stats

This Week In Idaho State Softball
Idaho State hosts Northern Colorado in a three-game series Saturday and Sunday. The series starts with a doubleheader Saturday, April 19, at 1 p.m. and the final game will be played Sunday, April 20, at 1 p.m. On Saturday, in between game one and two, the Idaho State Athletic department and Citizens Community Bank will sponsor an Easter egg hunt for elementary age kids.
 
There is no admission fee for games at Miller Ranch Stadium and live video, audio and live stats will all be available at isubengals.com. Live stats are available via bengalstats.com on your mobile divice.
 
Earlier This Week
The Idaho State softball team battled Utah Valley, and the wind, but came out on top with an 8-7 win on a pinch hit, walk-off single by Gabby Lopez that scored Katelyn Marquez in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Kacie Burnett was three-for-thee with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Marquez was three-for -four with two RBIs and two stolen bases. Hailey Breakwell was two-for-four with two RBIs. ISU tallied 12 hits and five stolen bases in the outing. 
 
Bailey Foster (7-4) earned the win in relief. She struck out three, gave up four hits and two runs in three innings pitched.
 
The weather was tough to overcome. A constant wind battered Miller Ranch Stadium with gusts up to 40 miles per hour for the duration of the game.
 
About Northern Colorado
Northern Colorado holds a 20-12 all-time advantage over Idaho State. Idaho State has won four straight over the NC including all three games in 2013.
The Bears are 15-28 this season and a 6-3 in Big Sky Conference play.
 
NC has a .270 team batting average and a 5.28 team ERA. Head Coach Shana Easley is 31-58-1 in her second season at Northern Colorado.
 
Bengals in the NCAA Stats
As of April 14, Idaho State has the sixth best batting average in the country at .342. ISU ranks 6th in scoring at 7.87 runs per game and has the 24th best slugging percentage at .500.
 
Individually, Terah Blackwell holds the top spot for RBIs per game at 1.51. She is 25th in slugging percentage with .789 and is tied with Galasso for 12th in home runs with 13.
 
Vicky Galasso ranks 12th in home runs at 13, 15th in home runs per game at 0.33, fifth in RBIs per game at 1.36, 11th in runs per game at 1.18, 11th in sacrifice flies with four and 46th in slugging percentage at .735.
 
Kacie Burnett has the 11th best batting average in the country at .460. She is sixth in runs per game at 1.23 and is third in triples with five. Maddy Hickman is tied with Galasso for 11th in sacrifice flies with four.
 
Did You Know
The Bengals 25-16 record is the best start to a season since the program was brought back in 2007.
 
Bengals Earning Weekly Big Sky Conference Honors
The Bengals have earned four of the 10 conference player of the week honors. Kacie Burnett earned it week one. Vicky Galasso earned the honor on March 4 and Burnett earned the honor again for her performance at the UC Riverside Highlander Classic. Katee Wiley won the award after her performance in Boise. Haley Douglas brought home conference pitcher of the week honors for her performance at UC Riverside. Jessica Tolmie received the award for last week's performance against Utah State and Sacramento State.
 
Leading the League
The Idaho State offense leads the Big Sky Conference in 13 statistical categories. The Bengals are the top team in the conference in batting average (.345), slugging percentage (.505), on base percentage (.417), runs scored (282), hits (400), RBIs (252), Doubles (57), total bases (586), walks (137), sacrifice flies (21), stolen bases (58) and steal attempts (63). Idaho State and Northern Colorado are tied for the lead in home runs with 38.
 
Leading the League (Individual Stats)
Individually, the Bengals are at the top of the conference stats in 14 offensive categories. Kacie Burnett is first in the conference in batting average (.472), on base percentage (.531), hits (68), triples (5), runs scored (51), stolen bases (24) and stolen base attempts (26). Vicky Galasso is first in the league in home, walks (29), runs (13), sacrifice flies (4). Terah Blackwell is first in the league in slugging percentage (.884), total bases (99), doubles (12) and RBIs (60) and she is tied with Galasso with Home Runs (13). Maddy Hickman is tied with Galasso for the lead in sacrifice flies (4).
 
The Power Continues
Last year ISU hit over .300 for the first time since the program was brought back in 2007. The Bengals finished with a .329 average, the second best mark in program history. The 1977 team finished the season with a .351 batting average. The 2013 team also set single season records in home runs with 78 and RBIs with 315. This year's ISU squad has a .345 batting average, 38 home runs, 400 hits and 252 RBIs.
Single Season Records
Kacie Burnett stole two bases against Utah Valley on April 15 to set the single season Idaho State Steals record with 24 steals. Terah Blackwell tallied an RBI in the same game to tie the single season mark for RBIs at 60 and Vicky Galasso was walked twice, also against Utah Valley, to set a new single season record for walks at 28.
 
Did You Know
All eight Bengals that have started 40 or 41 games have a batting average over .300.
 
 Bengal Bites
- The 20 runs that the Bengals scored against Weber State are the most by any Big Sky team this season. It is also the third time in Idaho State history that the Bengals have scored 20 or more runs and the first since 1978.
- Idaho State's 19 hits vs. Lafayette on March 14 and again against BYU on March 29 are the most by a Big Sky Conference team this season. The 16 RBIs against Lafayette, Buffalo on March 1, and Weber State on April 5, is the most by any team in the league.
- Kacie Burnett's five hits vs. Utah State on March 7, is the most by a Big Sky Conference player to this point in the season.
- The four runs Vicky Galasso scored against Buffalo on March 1, is the most by any Big Sky player.
 
Preseason Big Sky Favorites
Last season the Bengals were picked to finish last in the Big Sky by the coaches. The Bengals surprised everyone when they went 14-4 in Big Sky play to win the rights to host the first-ever Big Sky Conference softball championship.
 
This season the Bengals won't be surprising anyone as they were picked first by the coaches in the preseason poll.
 
Returning Honor Winners
Vicky Galasso is the reigning Big Sky Player of the Year and sophomore Maddy Hickman was the 2013 Big Sky Freshman of the Year. Four other returning Bengals received honors from the Big Sky for their play in 2013.
 
Galasso's Preseason Honors
Vicky Galasso received preseason recognition from two national organizations leading up to the start of the 2014 season. USA Softball named Galasso to their Top 50 Watch List and she earned third-team preseason All-American honors from College Sports Madness.
 
Returning Starters
The Bengals return eight starters from last year's championship squad.
 
Five New Bengals
Four freshmen and one Division I transfer will add to the Bengal depth this season. Sarah Hayes, Kacie Burnett, Dara Kolar and Jennie Murillo are freshmen on the 2014 roster. Jessica Tolmie is a sophomore transfer from Temple.