Softball Opens 2015 Season in Southern California

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POCATELLO, Idaho- The 2014 Big Sky Conference regular season champions open the 2015 season at the So-Cal Tournament February 5-7. The Bengals open the season at No. 6/7 UCLA at 7 p.m. (MDT) on February 5 before playing San Diego State (2:30 p.m. MDT) and Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m. (MDT) in Fullerton. The Bengals then play Utah at 12:30 p.m. (MDT) and Long Beach State (3 p.m. MDT) in Long Beach on Saturday, Feb. 7. For information on how to follow the game online log onto isubengals.com.

ISU vs. UCLA
This is the second meeting between the two schools. The first meeting was a 1-0 eight inning loss on April 8, 1983.

ISU vs. San Diego State
This is the first meeting between the two schools.

ISU vs. Cal State Fullerton
This is the second meeting between the two schools. ISU lost 5-1 at Fullerton on March 9, 2013.

ISU vs. Utah
Utah leads the series 18-6. Utah has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. ISU's only win during that stretch was a 9-8 victory on Feb. 15, 2013. Last year ISU lost 8-6 in Salt Lake City.

ISU vs. Long Beach State
This is the second meeting between the two schools. ISU lost 1-0 at Long Beach on March 14, 2010.

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.

Bengals Against Ranked Opponents
The Bengal softball program is looking for its first win against a nationally ranked team. The Bengals are 0-19 against nationally ranked programs. Six of those 19 games have been against Arizona State.  The highest ranked team ISU has faced was No. 2 Arizona State in 2007.

Senior Class Sets Foundation for ISU Softball
This year's senior class of Vicky Galasso, Hailey Breakwell, Gabby Lopez and Shaundee Garrett were the first recruits Julie Wright signed when she was named head coach. While Garrett has played sparingly since her freshman season due to injury, Galasso, Breakwell and Lopez have rewritten the Bengal record books. Breakwell has not missed a game in her career and she has started every game but one at short stop. Galasso has started every game as a sophomore and junior. As a freshman she only missed one game, appearing in 47 of 48 games. Lopez played and started in all 48 games as a freshman. She appeared in 30 as a sophomore and 48 as a junior. During those two seasons she played a valuable role as the team's pinch hitter.

Preseason Favorites
The Idaho State softball team was picked to finish first by the coaches in the preseason poll that was released by the Big Sky Conference. This is the second consecutive year ISU has been picked first in the preseason polls.  Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the poll.

The Bengals are the two-time Big Sky Conference regular season champions, finishing the 2014 season with a 35-20 record and a 13-4 mark in Big Sky Conference play.

The Bengals return the 2014 Player of the Year in shortstop Hailey Breakwell and the unanimous 2014 Freshman of the Year, outfielder Kacie Burnett.

Vicky Galasso, the 2013 Big Sky Conference MVP and two-time first-team all-conference catcher, returns for her senior season.   Also returning for the Bengals is second-team pitcher Jessica Tolmie along with Maddy Hickman, Micheala Taylor, Sarah Hayes and Katelyn Marquez. All four earned honorable mention all-conference in 2014 and Hickman was the 2013 Big Sky Conference Freshman of the Year.

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)

Did You Know
The Bengals 35-20 record in 2014 was a school record for most wins in a season.

 Bengal Bites
- Hailey Breakwell ended the 2014 season on a seven-game hitting streak.
- Kacie Burnett and Maddy Hickman ended the 2014 season on with a three-game hitting streak and Vicky Galasso ended 2014 on a two-game hitting streak.
-  Kacie Burnett has reached base in 29 straight games dating back to last season.