POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State softball team won its sixth straight game on Saturday, beating Montana 3-2 and 6-1 in Missoula, Montana. The Bengals improved to 13-16 overall and 4-0 in Big Sky Conference play. The six-game winning streak is the longest since the 2016 season.
Idaho State pounded out 16 hits on the day.
Aubrey Creekmore led the attack with a 4-6 day. She scored three runs, had one double, two home runs and four RBIs.
Emma Bordenkecher was 4-8 and scored one run while
MaKenzie Van Sickle had three hits and two RBIs and
Jayden DeMoss had two hits.
The Bengal pitching was solid all afternoon.
Autumn Pease earned the 3-2 win. She went seven innings, struck out nine, walked one and allowed only six hits.
Mariah Mulcahy earned the win in game 2, pitching 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, one run, four walks and two strike outs.
Kelsea Sweeney tossed the final 1.2 innings and struck out three.
"We found a way to win the opener despite not playing sharp," Idaho State coach
Candi Letts said. "We got good pitching by Autumn and timely hitting. In the second game we played better. Aubrey was terrific at the plate today. Mariah and
Kelsea Sweeney did a great job to keep Montana off the scoreboard."
In the game 1 win, the game was scoreless through two innings. In the third inning ISU scored a run and took advantage of one Montana error. DeMoss led off with a single to center field and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by
Haley Harrison. Van Sickle then had her first of two RBI in the game on a single to right field.
Montana tied the game at one in the bottom of the third. The Bengals added a run in the fourth inning. Creekmore led off with a single up the middle and she later scored on a single by
Billie Jean Wells.
Montana tied the game at two in the fifth and Idaho State scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Harrison reached on an error and then Van Sickle singled to center field to score the run.
Van Sickle was 2-3 with two RBIs in the game and Bordenkecher was 2-4.
Two big innings was all the Bengals needed to pull out the game 2 win.
Idaho State scored four runs in the top of the first inning. Van Sickle and Harrison led off with singles and later scored on a double to right-center by
Shayna Dahlen. Creekmore then hit her first homer of the game on a two-run blast to left field.
Idaho State added two runs in the fifth inning. With one out, Bordenkecher singled to center field and Creekmore smacked her second bomb of the game to left-center.
Montana added a run in the sixth but
Kelsea Sweeney closed the deal in the circle to lift the Bengals.
Idaho State had nine hits. Creekmore was 3-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored and Bordenkecher was 2-4.
The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. in Missoula.
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