POCATELLO, Idaho - The Idaho State softball team split the final day of the Libby Matson tournament in Stockton, Calif., on Saturday. The Bengals completed the tournament sweep of the University of Nevada with a 12-6 win over the Wolfpack and the Bengals fell to Pacific 7-4.
Two Bengals hit over .500 the second day of the tournament.
Emma Bordenkecher and
Morgan Hess led the team both hitting .571. Three other Bengals hit over 300 including
Isabel Cargill who finished hitting .400.
The Bengal pitchers finished the day with a combined 7.62 era, edging out the competition's 7.71.
"This was a successful first weekend," said Head Coach
Cristal Brown. "We put a lot of runs on the board this first weekend back, which is exciting."
Vs Pacific
The Bengal softball program fell to the Pacific Tigers 7-4 Saturday afternoon.
The two teams traded a scoreless first inning. In the second, the Bengals would open the scoring after loading the basses on a walk to Hess.
Amber Arreola would reach on a fielding error by second base which would allow
Mailee Newman to score from third and give the Bengals the 1-0 lead.
Cargill singled to center, sending Arreola home and making the score 2-0 Bengals.
In her second at-bat of the day, Bordenkecher doubled to left field brining in
Rheanne Lewis and
Kaylee Butterworth to give the Bengals the 4-0 advantage.
The Bengals would hold the lead until the bottom of the 5th when Pacific would hit two consecutive home runs to tie the game at four. The Tigers would then tack on another three runs in the bottom of the 6th to end the game with the 7-4 win.
Bordenkecher led the team with a double and two RBIs. Cargill ended the game with a .667 slg.
The Bengals ended the game with .185 hitting percentage from five hits for four runs.
The team had a quick turnaround before facing the University of Nevada.
Vs Nevada
The Bengals took down the Mountain West member Nevada Wolfpack for the second game in a row Saturday 12-6. Four Bengals hit .500 or higher en route to the victory.
Nevada got on the board first, scoring off of a fielder's choice to end the first inning up 1-0.
The Orange and Black didn't waste any time in the 2nd responding. After reaching on an error by Nevada,
Angelica Cano advanced to third thanks to a single by Hess. Lewis would then single up the middle brining home Hess and tying the game at 1-1.
The Wolfpack then walked in the second Bengal run, before Bordenkecher hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Butterworth and end the inning with a 3-1 Bengal lead.
The Bengals poured it on in the 3rd, with Cano and Hess scoring off of a Nevada error. Bordenkecher hit another strong single to right field brining home Lewis and Perkins. The Bengals ended the inning with a 7-1 lead.
The Wolfpack didn't give up, scoring three runs in the bottom of the 3rd to bring the score to 7-4 and another run in the 4th to cut the Bengal lead to 7-5.
In the 5th, the Bengals extended the lead to 8-5 after
Frankie Tago was walked allowing Lewis to score.
The Bengals would put it away with a strong 6th inning. After singling to right Hess would advance to third off of a Butterworth hit up the middle. Cargill would then hit a sac fly to center to bring Hess home.
Bordenkecher, in her last at bat of the tournament, would step up to the plate and put the game away with a three-run homerun over the right-field wall and give the Bengals the 12-6 victory.
Hess and Bordenkecher both hit .750 against the Wolfpack. Bordenkecher led the team with 6 RBIs. Her nine RBIs on the season ranks her 4th in the conference.
Of the nine Bengals that played, eight recorded at least one hit during the game.
Newman and
Mareena Ramirez combined for the win with a 6.43 era.
Be sure to keep up all season long with the Idaho State softball program at
Isubengals.com. Also, don't forget to like us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date with the team.
