Softball Set to Play Four Games at Santa Clara

Game Notes | Live Stats

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team returns to the field for four games at Santa Clara University Feb. 20-22. The Bengals play San Jose State on Feb. 20 at 2 p.m. (MDT), Seattle on Feb. 21 at 1:15 p.m. (MDT), Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 22 at 10 a.m. (MDT) and Santa Clara at 12:15 p.m. (MDT). Live stats will be available for all four games through isubengals.com.

ISU vs. San Jose State
San Jose State leads the overall series 4-2. The Spartans have won the last three meetings with ISU's only wins being 7-4 in 2011 and 8-0 in 1980. San Jose State beat ISU 10-4 and 9-1 (5 innings) in 2013.

ISU vs. Seattle
Idaho State leads the series 10-7 but Seattle has won five of the last six meetings. Idaho State and Seattle used to be Pacific Coast Softball Conference members. The last time the two teams met was a 4-2 Bengal victory on April 1, 2012.

ISU vs. Illinois Chicago
Illinois Chicago leads the series 2-0. The two teams played twice in 2012 with ISU falling 5-2 and 7-0.

ISU vs. Santa Clara
Santa Clara leads the series 3-2. The two teams played three times in 2013 with ISU winning 12-1 (5 innings) and 6-4 before losing 4-3.

Galasso Continues Climb in the Record Books
Early into Vicky Galasso's senior season she is already breaking ISU career records. Over the weekend at Louisiana Lafayette, Galasso became the ISU all-time hits leader with 197, passing Terah Blackwell's 196. Galasso already holds the career record for home runs (45) and runs scored (145). She is second doubles (32), walks (66) and RBIs (162). The senior catcher is seven RBIs, 10 doubles  and five walks away from holding the top mark in the ISU career records.

Tough Schedule
Four of the 10 games Idaho State has played have come against Top 10 teams. ISU opened the season losing to No. 6/7 UCLA 13-3 in six innings. The Bengals then lost three closes games to No. 7 Louisiana Lafayette last week. ISU lost a close 3-1 contest at Cal State Fullerton, a team that is receiving votes in the Top 25. The Bengals play at Kansas on March 14, a team that is also receiving votes in the Top 25 polls.

Bengal Bites
-  Kacie Burnett has reached base in  39 straight games dating back to last season.
- ISU has won the Big Sky Conference regular season championship the last two seasons.
- Julie Wright boasts a 67-50 record at ISU since the start of the 2013 season. ISU is 26-8 in the Big Sky Conference.

And the Winner Is...
Kacie Burnett and Sophie Slagle became the first Bengals to earn conference player of the week honors. Burnett was named the Big Sky Player of the Week for hitting .429 with six hits, six runs scored and five RBIs at the Mardi Classic at Louisiana Lafayette. Slagle posted a 1-1 mark in 16.1 innings, striking out 12 and allowing five runs. Opponents only hit .207 off her in three appearances.

Packing the Offensive Punch
Despite losing the offensive production of Terah Blackwell and Katee Wiley, the Bengals still return a significant portion of the record setting offense in 2014. The Bengals return 79.2 percent of the total runs scored in 2014, 70.2 percent of the RBIs, 68.9 percent of the home runs hit and 62.5 percent of the hits.

Preseason Softball Poll
Team Points
1. Idaho State 48 (6)
2. Sacramento State 42 (1)
3. Northern Colorado 34
4. Southern Utah 32 (1)
5. Weber State 29
6. Portland State 16
7. Montana 14
8. North Dakota 10
(First-place votes in parenthesis)