Softball Opens Season at Cal State Fullerton

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POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team begins the 2019 season at the Cal State Fullerton Titan Classic. The Bengals play six games in four days beginning Feb. 7 against host school Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m. Idaho State also plays Louisville, Loyola Marymount, Pacific, Buffalo and Northwestern over the remaining days of the tournament. For information on how to follow all six games log onto isubengals.com.

Bengals Against the Field
Buffalo
Idaho State leads the series 4-0. The two teams met twice in 2014 and twice in 2017. Idaho State won the two meetings in 2017 21-9 and 9-4.
Cal State Fullerton
Cal State Fullerton leads the series 2-1.All three meetings have been close as the Bengals dropped a 3-1 contest in 2015 and a 5-1 game in 2013. In 2016 the Bengals won 3-2 at a tournament in Santa Clara.
Loyola Marymount
LMU leads the series 3-1. Idaho State won the last meeting 9-1 on March 19, 2016. ISU lost 9-1 in 2007 and 7-3 and 9-1 in 2016.
Louisville
This is the first meeting between the two schools.
Northwestern
Northwestern leads the series 1-0. The Bengals lost 14-2 in 2009.
Pacific
Pacific leads the series 1-0. ISU lost 5-3 in 2017.

Tough Schedule
This year's non-conference schedule consists of one team who is ranked No. 2/3 in the preseason polls in Washington. Idaho State also plays four team who are receiving votes in the preseason coaches poll in Northwestern, Ohio State, Cal State Fullerton and Boise State.

Who is Returning
Aubrey Creekmore, Sr. IF, Hit .176 in 131 at bats, had one homer and six RBIs, played and started in 46 games.
Kelsey Breer, Jr. IF: Will miss the 2019 season due to injury.
Emma Bordenkecher, Jr. UT: Played and started in all 47 games, hit .273 with two homers and 20 RBIs in 139 at bats.
Haley Harrison, Sr. IF: Played and started in 45 games, hit .221 in 140 at bats, had one homer and 13 RBIs.
Shayna Dahlen, Jr. C:  Hit .195 in 82 at bats, had one homer and eight RBIs
Danni Ryan: Jr. P: Pitched in 32.1 innings; also hit .300 in 12 at bats with two homers and five RBIs.
Mariah Mulcahy, Sr. P: Pitched 115 innings and had an 8-14 record with 74 strikeouts.
Frankie Tago, So, IF: Played in 45 games, starting 44, hit .250 with four homers and 15 RBIs.
Cassidy FitzGerald: So. C: Played in 45 games, starting 33, hit .232 with three homers and 14 RBIs
Makenzie Van Sickle, Sr. UT: Played and started in 36 games and hit .292, stole 14 bases on 18 attempts.

Who is New
1     Jayden DeMoss     IF    Fr.     5-6    Santa Ana, Calif. / Segerstrom HS
4     Billie Jean Wells     OF    So.     5-4    La Habra, Calif. / La Habra HS
6     Courtney Wiley     UT    Jr.     5-6    Jerome, Idaho / CSI
7     Amber Arreola     UT    Fr.     5-7               Temple City, Calif. / Temple City  HS
12     Madi Jackson     OF    Jr.     5-7              Herriman, Utah / Western Nebraska
17     Nicole Calderon     OF    So.     5-4        Riverside, Calif. / Riverside Polytechnic
19     Kelsea Sweeney     P    Jr.     5-8             Las Vegas, Nev. / Colorado Christian
24     Mailee Newman     P    Fr.     5-8    Torrance, Calif. / West High School
25     Autumn Pease     P    Fr.     5-10    Murrieta, Calif. / Murrieta Mesa HS

Bengals Picked 6th in Preseason Polls
The Big Sky coaches picked Idaho State sixth in the preseason polls with Sacramento State picked to win the league.
 2019 Big Sky Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Sacramento State     36 (6)
2. Weber State         30
3. Portland State     24
4. Montana          20
5. Northern Colorado       16 (1)
6. Idaho State         15
7. Southern Utah     6

Streaks Dating Back to Last Season
Dating back to last season, Makenzie Van Sickle, Frankie Tago and Danni Ryan have two-game hitting streaks while Emma Bordenkecher and Aubrey Creekmore have a one-game hitting streak.

Van Sickle has reached base in three straight games while Tago and Ryan have reached base in two straight games.

Bengal Bites
- Emma Bordenkecher has 16 multiple hit games in her career.  She has 15 multiple RBI games.
- Frankie Tago has seven multiple hit games in her career.  She has three multiple RBI games.
- Haley Harrison has 20 multiple hit games in her career. She has nine multiple RBI games.
- Shayna Dahlen has six multiple hit games in her career. She has four multiple RBI games.
- Cassidy FitzGerald has three multiple hit games in her career.  She has three multiple RBI games.
- Makenzie Van Sickle has three multiple hit games in her career. She has two multiple RBI games,
- Danni Ryan has one multiple hit game in her career. She has one multiple RBI game.
- Aubrey Creekmore has seven multiple hit games in her career.  She has four multiple RBI games.

Recapping 2017
Idaho State finished 13-34 and 8-13 in Big Sky Conference play. Makenzie Van Sickle is the top returning hitter. Last year she hit .292 in 36 games. Emma Bordenkecher hit .273.
Idaho State hit .241 as a team, had 27 home runs and 134 RBIs.
Mariah Mulcahy is the top returning pitcher. She compiled an 8-14 record with a 5.84 era in 115 innings of work. Last year's pitching staff had a 5.71 era and opponents hit .325.