Softball Hosts Montana on Friday and Saturday

Notes | Audio | Video | Live Stats

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team returns home for a three-game series vs. the University of Montana on April 8-9.  The series starts with a double header on April 8 at 2 p.m. and concludes with a single-game at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 9. Fans can follow the games with live stats, video and audio by logging onto isubengals.com. Game 2 of the double header on April 8 and the single-game will be broadcast on KISU.

About Montana
Montana is 13-18 and 4-2 in Big Sky Conference play. Bethany Olea leads the Montana offense with a .409 average. She has 38 hits and has scored 18 runs. Sydney Stites is hitting .398. She has seven home runs and 17 RBIs. Montana is hitting .301 as a team. The pitching staff has a 5.49 era. Sara Stephenson is 7-4 in the circle in 71 innings pitched.

Bengals vs. Montana
Idaho State leads the series 2-1. This is the second year of Montana's softball program. The Bengals won 5-3 and 5-4 before losing 6-3 in Missoula last year.

Slagle Climbing the Record Books for Wins
Sophie Slagle has a 25-14 record in the circle since arriving at Idaho State. Slagle's 25 wins third all-time in ISU history.   Slagle's winning percentage is .641 (25-14), the best since Wendy Alvey went 16-6 (.727) in 1978 and Jo Hillegas-Skeleton was 16-6 in 1977 and 1979. The school record for most wins in a career is 43 by Kandis Clesson.

Burnett Has Impressive March
Kacie Burnett leads the Bengal offensive attack. She is hitting .426 and is 14-17 stealing bases. She has scored 30 runs and tallied 13 RBIs. In the month of March she hit .500, scored 17 runs, had 23 hits, was 7-8 stealing bases and had seven RBIs.

Portesi Making Early Impact
Alex Portesi has made an impact for the Bengals. The transfer from Farleigh Dickinson has the second-best batting average on the team at .389, scored 18 runs and has 11 RBIs. She is 4-4 stealing bases.

Taylor off to Solid Senior Season
Micheala Taylor has started all 31 games at second base and she at one  point had a 16-game hitting streak in the season. For the season she is hitting .367. She is second on the team in runs scored with 26 and her .367 batting average is the third-best on the team.

Where the Bengals Rank in NCAA Stats
Idaho State has the 29th best batting average in the country at .321 and they rank 38th in steals per game at 1.65. Maddy Hickman ranks 47th in walks per game at .71. Kacie Burnett has the 62nd best batting average in the country at .426. Micheala Taylor ranks 40th in the country as the toughest person to strike out. She has struck out only four times, a ratio of striking out every 28 at bats.