POCATELLO, Idaho – The Bengals are back on the west coast this weekend as they Head to Riverside, Calif., to take on the Lancers Invite Hosted by California Baptist University.
The Bengals will look to bounce back after a difficult Arizona Tournament
The Field – CBU Lancers Invite
Idaho State
California Baptist
Cal Poly
St. John's
How to Follow
Only the game against CBU will have video (ESPN+) the other four will be Live Stats Only
ISU vs Cal Poly | Mar. 1 | 1:30 PM MT
Live Stats
Game 2 ISU vs CBU | Mar. 1 | 6:30 PM MT
Watch
Live Stats
Game 3 ISU vs St. John's | Mar. 3 | 11:00 AM MT
Live Stats
Game 4 ISU vs CBU | Feb. 10 | 12:00 PM MT
Live Stats
Texas Takedown
The Idaho State Bengals took on the Whataburger Invitational hosted by Tarleton State going 4-1 over the weekend.
The Bengals picked up wins over Buffalo, Mississippi Valley State and Lafayette College while dropping one game to Tarleton State
Taylor Fitzgerald led the Bengals in the circle, earning Big Sky Pitcher of the Week honors for her 2-0 record over 13.1 innings pitched. Fitzgerald only allowed two hits and one run while striking out 10 batters and not allowing a single walk all weekend. Fitzgerald held opponents to a stifling .040 batting average and finished with a 0.00 era.
The Bengal offense was on fire, outhitting opponents .341 to .160. Angelica Cano led the Bengals on the weekend hitting .526 with 10 hits, five doubles and seven RBIS slugging .789. Six Bengals hit over .400 on the weekend over 51 combined at bats.
Preseason Picks
The Bengals were selected as the conference favorites in the 2024 Big Sky preseason coaches' poll. Idaho State, the defending regular-season champions return 15 team members to this year's squad, including six all-conference honorees and Big Sky freshman of the year Ava Brown and Big Sky Coach of the year Andrew Rich.
The voting breakdown was as follows.
1: Idaho State (3) – 23
2: Northern Colorado (2) – 22
3: Sacramento State (1) – 17
4: Portland State – 14
5: Weber State – 9
6: Montana – 5
Strong Veterans, Fresh Faces
The Bengals return 15 from last year's Big Sky Conference Championship team.
Ava Brown, Emma McMurray, Kate Hogan, Gracie Smith, Angelica Cano, Madison Muxen, Kenedy Dudley, Skyler Sethman, Megan Weiss, Rylee Peters, Paige Simpson, Olivia Robison, Alyssa Yee, Jillian Martinez and Piper Tago all return for the Orange and Black.
Ava Brown earned 1st team all-conference honors in 2023 and was named Big Sky freshman of the year.
Olivia Robison, Angelica Cano, and Alyssa Yee were all named 2nd team All-Big Sky\
Skyler Sethman, Paige Simpson and Kennedy Dudley all earned honorable mentions in 2023 rounding out the veterans.
New to the Bengals this season are; Camryn McDonald, Lizzy Tommasini, Marley Goluskin, Jenna Kearns, Belle Navarrete, Taylor Fitzgerald, Jaden Moore, Skylar Williams, and Riley Wickum.
Head Coach Andrew Rich hit the transfer portal to bring in talent to the Bengals program
Taylor Fitzgerald comes to the Bengals as a Graduate Student from UC Davis
Jaden Moore is a utility from the University of Houston
And Riley Wickum joins the bullpen coming to the Bengals from CSUN.
On Deck
After the California trip, the Bengals head to the rocky mountains to take on the Colorado State Rams Invitational in Fort Collins March 8-10.
