POCATELLO, Idaho – The Idaho State Bengals wrapped up the 2022 Libby Matson Tournament with a 9-7 win over the University of Nevada.
The Bengals (10-10) used strong offensive bursts in the first and second inning to pull out to a nine-point lead and hold onto it for the remainder of the game.
The Bengal bats got hot early against the Wolfpack, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first off of some Bengal hits and Nevada errors.
In the second, the Bengals put their feet on the gas. Rheanne Lewis started the offensive barrage with a double then advancement to third on a Nevada error bringing home Isabel Cargill and Gracie Smith. Giving the Bengals a 5-2 lead.
Angelica Cano stepped up next, hitting a single to right, scoring Lewis and extending the lead to 6-2.
Cano made it around the bases off of Skyler Sethman ground out. Frankie Tago followed to third and Morgan Hess stopped on second with a 7-2 Bengal lead.
The Bengals would then take advantage to another Nevada Error and walk to extend the lead to 9-2 headed to the third inning.
The Wolfpack would score in the third to cut the lead to 9-3.
In the sixth, Nevada tried their best to come back, scoring four runs to cut the lead to 9-7 but the Bengals held on. Haley Rainey came is as relief in the sixth and the Bengals defense closed out the game and Bengals victory 9-7.
The Bengals scored nine runs on six hits. Angelica Cano led ISU with two hits and two RBIs.
The Bengal pitching trio of Emma McMurray (W, 3-1), Mareena Ramirez and Rainey combined for seven hits allowed and seven runs scored. They had six strike outs collectively faced 37 batters.
Tournament Recap
The Bengals wrap up the Libby Matson Tournament 3-2 with two wins against Nevada and a win against Seton Hall.
In the circle, Rainey went 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA and only seven hits and one run allowed in 14.2 innings pitched. Rainey also had a team-high 14 strikeouts
McMurray went 1-1 pitching 8 innings allowing seven hits and striking out 11 batters. McMurray held opponents to a .189 batting average.
Ramirez went 0-1 pitching eight innings with six strike outs and nine hits allowed.
Offensively, Angelica Cano finished the weekend with a .438 average going seven-of-16 with five RBIs a double and a triple.
Morgan Hess and Gracie Smith finished the tournament at .333 each. Smith had the highest On Base percentage of the weekend at .600.
The Bengals hit .217 on average for the tournament with 28 hits on 129 at bats scoring 22 runs with 19 RBIs. The Bengal defense held tough though, holding opponents to .189 batting.
Looking Ahead
Next weekend, the Bengals are in San Jose, Calif. For the 2022 Silicon Valley Classic. The Bengals will face off against San Jose State, Santa Clara and UC Davis March 11-13.
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