Bengals Open Big Sky Conference Play at Montana

Game Notes

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team opens Big Sky Conference play on Saturday, March 21 with a double header at the University of Montana. First pitch begins at 1 p.m. The two teams also play a single-game at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 22. The weekend series will be the home opener for the Griz, who are in their first year of fielding a softball team.

This is the first meeting between the two schools. Montana is 4-20 and led offensively by Lexie Brenneis' .386 batting average. Montana's pitching staff boasts a 5.25 era.

Bengals Among NCAA Stats Leaders
Several Bengals are making a splash in the NCAA stats. Vicky Galasso ranks 18th in the nation in RBIs per game (1.42), 43rd in slugging percentage (.833) 16th in home runs (9) and 11th in RBIs (37). Kacie Burnett has the 38th best batting average (.477), ranks 11th in stolen bases per game (.81), seventh in runs per game (1.31) and 47th in on base percentage (.550). Katelyn Marquez is 27th in triples per game (.15) and seventh in total triples (4). Hailey Breakwell ranks 16th in sacrifice flies with three. As a team ISU ranks fifth nationally in double plays per game with five.

Up Next
The Bengals play a single-game at Utah State on March 25. Game time is at 2 p.m. The Bengals then play a three-game series March 27-28 at Southern Utah.

Galasso Continues Climb in the Record Books
Early into Vicky Galasso's senior season she is already breaking  nearly every ISU offensive career records. She is first in the career records for runs (160), hits (223), home runs (51), RBIs (183), walks (73) and total bases (414). She is second in the career records for doubles (38) She is four doubles from become the all-time leader.

Battle For All-Time Steals Leader
Junior Katelyn Marquez and sophomore Kacie Burnett are in a battle to become the all-time steals leader at ISU. Burnett currently holds the record as she has stolen 48 bases on 53 attempts. Marquez has stolen 44 bases on 50 attempts. This year Burnett is 21-for-21 stealing bases while Marquez is seven-for-eight.

Tough Schedule
Five of Idaho State's 12 losses have come against Top 25 teams. ISU opened the season losing to No. 6/7 UCLA 13-3 in six innings. The Bengals then lost three close games to No. 7 Louisiana Lafayette. ISU lost a close 3-1 contest at Cal State Fullerton, a team that was receiving votes in the Top 25. The Bengals lost 10-2 in five innings to No. 23 Kansas.  

Bengal Bites
-  Vicky Galasso has an 11-game hitting streak.
- Vicky Galasso has reached base in 15 straight games.
- Kacie Burnett has 12 mulitple hit games and Vicky Galasso has 12 multiple RBI games.
- ISU has won the Big Sky Conference regular season championship the last two seasons.
- Julie Wright boasts a  78-55 record at ISU since the start of the 2013 season. ISU is 26-8 in the Big Sky Conference.

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 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)