POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State Softball (17-8) kicked off their three-game series against Pacific with a 2-0 start, Saturday afternoon. The Bengals started off the day with a 5-1 opening win, the Bengals then followed it up with a 4-2 win in game two.
"Lizzy and Kasey both threw great today and gave our offense a chance to build on our leads," remarked Head Coach Andrew Rich. "We had some quality at bats and gave ourselves lots of chances to score, which was good to see. Now we get a chance to go for a series sweep tomorrow."
In game one, the Pacific Tigers jumped out to an early lead with a solo homerun in the bottom of the first inning. The lead didn't last long though, and the run would be the last they would score until the 7th inning of game two.
The next inning, Gracie Smith kicked things off with a double to right field. She would then take advantage of a passed ball and a wild pitch to speed around the bases, taking home and tying the game at 1-1.
Olivia Robison drew a walk and Ashlee LaRue came into to pinch run. Bengal freshman Rebecca Quinn smashed a single up the middle and LaRue came home, putting the Benagls up 2-1.
After giving up the first-inning homerun, Lizzy Tommasini locked in on the mound. She retired 14 straight batters, not allowing another hit until the sixth inning.
The Benagls scored two more runs in the 4th, first Kennedy Dudley came home after a single, followed by Gracie Smith's RBI Double, her 2nd straight extra-base hit. Quinn then scored her 2nd RBI of the game on a groundout to short, scoring Smith,
While Tommasini and the defense dealt with the Tigers, the Bengals had one more run in them. In the top of the 6th, Ava Brown led the Bengals off. With a full count, the Bengal outfielder rocketed the ball over the left-field wall for her 9th homerun of the year.
The Bengals forced the final three putouts, and closed out the game with the 5-1 win over the Tigers.
Game two of the day saw a stifling Bengal defense, with Kasey Aguinaga throwing six and two thirds innings of a shutout before the Tigers were able to score two seventh inning runs.
The game started electrically, Gracie Smith led off the game for the Bengals, on the first pitch of the game, Smith smashed a ball over the center field wall, her 4th homerun of the year.
The Bengals and Tigers went back and forth for the next three innings, neither team gaining any ground.
With two outs in the fourth, Alyssa Yee hit a ball down the right field line and sped around the bases, coming into third, her 2nd triple of the 2025 season. Olivia Robison singled to second and Yee scored, putting the Bengals up 2-0.
In the 5th, Gracie Smith drew a walk, then advanced to third on a single by Camryn McDonald. The Bengals then put together a double steal with Smith stealing home for the 3-0 lead.
Back up to bat in the sixth, Olivia Robison hit a monster home run that smashed off of the Pacific scoreboard. The Bengals led 4-0 headed into the final inning.
After turning a double play in the bottom of the 7th, Pacific was able to score a run with the two outs. The Bengals subbed in Riley Wickum to close out the game. Pacific was able to put one more run on the board before Jenna Kearns wrangled grounder right infront of the plate, rocketing it to first for the final out of the game and the Bengal 4-2 win.
In the two games against Pacific, the Bengals hit .308 as a team. Olivia Robison went a perfect 1.000 in her three at bats with a homerun.
Gracie Smith had a dominant day, in six at bats, smith hit .667 with two doubles and a homerun for a 1.500 SLG%. Smith scored four runs and was credited with one stolen base on the day.
The Bengal defense turned three double plays in the two games. Of the 12 hits that Pacific had, only one was for extra-bases.
The Bengals have one more game against the Tigers tomorrow at 11:00 AM. The Game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and live Stats are available. Links can be found on ISUBengals.com
