POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team lost 14-6 in five innings to Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon in the final game of the 2018 Marucci Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
Emma Bordenkecher was 2-3 with four RBIs and one home run.
Frankie Tago was 2-3 with one RBI, a home run and one run scored.
Haley Harrison was 1-1, scored two runs and walked once.
Mariah Mulcahy went the distance, allowing 14 hits, nine earned runs, five walks and striking out one.
ISU had seven hits and two errors while Long Beach State had 14 hits and one error.
"We competed right out of the box but we have to cut down on our miscues that gives our opponents more outs in an innings," Idaho State coach
Candi Letts said. "We did some good things but we need to work this week before we play next week at UTEP."
ISU scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Harrison led off with a walk and following a sacrifice bunt by
Makenzie VanSickle, Bordenkecher hit a two-run homer to right field. Tago then homered to centerfield to up the ISU lead to 3-0.
Long Beach State scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning but ISU answered back with three more runs in the top of the second.
Genesis Zamora led off with a single to left field. Then with one out Harrison singled to center and VanSickle followed with an RBI single to center field that scored Zamora. Bordenkecher followed with a two-RBI infield single that platted Harrison and VanSickle.
Long Beach State took advantage of two ISU errors and four hits to score eight runs in the bottom of the second inning. Long Beach State would add two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to win the game in five innings.
Idaho State is back on the field Feb. 23-25 in a tournament at UTEP. The Bengals play three games against New Mexico State and two against UTEP.
