POCATELLO, Idaho – After three weeks on the road, Idaho State softball is set to play games in the state of Idaho. First, the Bengals head to Boise for two games with Boise State and Utah. Then, the Bengals are back home for the Black and Orange Classic presented by Direct Communications. The Bengals will host four teams over March 8-10 at the newly renovated Direct Communications field.
The tournament homepage can be found HERE.
The Field
Idaho State
Washington
Utah
Boise State
Montana
How to Follow
Every game of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Live Stats will be available for every game as well.
Links to all contests HERE.
Bengal Bites
· The Bengals are heading into week four of the seson with a 14-4 record, one of the top-3 starts in the modern era of the program.
· The Bengal pitching staff is throwing a combined ERA of 3.28, best in the Big Sky.
· Kasey Aguinaga leads the Big Sky in pitching, throwing a 2.33 ERA on the year with a 7-1 record.
· Cam McDonald has the 4th best batting average in the conference, hitting .407 on the year.
· Ava Brown leads the Big Sky in runs scored with 20 on the season, the Bengal outfielder also leads the conference in home runs with seven on the year so far.
· Ava Brown and Alyssa Yee are top three in RBIS with 19 for Brown and 18 for Yee.
· The Bengals rank #36 in the nation in scoring this season, averaging 6.72 runs per game.
· Defensively, the Bengals are 28th in the NCAA with a .975 fielding percentage on the season.
· Jenna Kearns ranks 21 in the nation having caught six runners stealing so far.
· Brown is 23rd in the nation in total homeruns this season with 7
D1Softball Mid Major Poll
Idaho State has received its first rankings of the 2025 softball season. D1Softball released its weekly mid-major poll rankings and the Bengals are coming in at #11.
The full list of rankings are here.
First Ranked Win in Program History
On February 28, 2025 Idaho State defeated Texas Tech at the 2025 Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas, Idaho State was the designated home team. Down 2-1 in the 6th, Jr Outfielder Alysaa Yee hit a stand up triple, followed by a sacrifice fly by Jr. Outfielder Ava Brown to tie the game at 2-2. In the bottom of the 7th, Sr. Outfielder Gracie Smith led off the Bengals and on the first ptich of the inning, hit a walk-off homerun over the right field wall. Sophomore Pitcher Lizzy Tommasini threw a complete game in the win, allowing just two runs against the top-15 Red Raiders
Smith/Aguinaga Named Player/Pitcher of the week
Gracie Smith hit a walk-off homerun against #13 Texas Tech this weekend to earn the Bengals their first-ever top-15 win.
On the weekend, Smith had five hits, including two doubles and the walk-off homer. Smith finished the weekend with 10 total bases a .667 slugging percentage and a .412 on base percentage.
In the outfield, Smith went a perfect six-for-six putouts.
Kasey Aguinaga was near unstoppable for the Bengals on the mound this weekend at the Texas A&M Invitational.
The Bengal Junior Pitcher appeared in three games, going 2-0 and holding a perfect 0.00 ERA. Aguinaga held opponents to just 0.067 batting average, only allowing two hits total in 9.2 innings pitched.
Aguinaga struck out four batters and only allowed two walks in her games pitched.
New Faces
The Bengals added nine new faces to the team for the 2025 season. Seven new Bengals are freshmen and ISU added two transfers to the team.
#00 Kira Day, Infield, Freshman, Phoenix, AZ
#4 Kasey Aguinaga. Left Handed Pitcher, Junior, Boise State
#8 Rebecca Quinn, Infield, Freshman, Sunnyvale, CA
#9 Megan Meracle, Right Handed Pitcher, Freshman, Boise, ID
#16 Ashlee LaRue, Outfield, Graduate Student, Tarleton State
#18 Kendra Gominsky, Catcher, Freshman, Yorba Linda, CA
#20 Brooke Peterson, Infield, Freshman, Eugene, OR
#32 Kaliann Scoresby, Right Handed Pitcher, Freshman, Idaho Falls, ID
#33 Josslin Law, Right Handed Pitcher, Freshman, Las Vegas, NV
New to the Bengal coaching staff for the 2025 season is Graduate Assistant Taylor Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald was a pitcher for the Bengals in the 2024 season after transferring to Idaho State from UC Davis.
New Year, Same Goal
The Idaho State Bengals head into the 2025 season coming off of a 2nd place finish in the Big Sky Conference in 2024. The Goal of sitting atop the conference in May remains the same for the Bengals.
Idaho State started the 2024 season with one of the best starts in program history. After two tournaments, the Bengals sat at 9-1 and looked to carry the momentum into the rest of the season.
The remainder of the non-conference schedule was a battle for the Bengals who ultimately went .500 17-17 in non-conference play.
Conference play started with two tough series for the Orange and Black. Having to play in Boise due to field conditions, the Bengals dropped three games to Portland State. Then, the Sacramento State series was forced to be cancelled due to icy conditions on the field in Pocatello.
Not letting it get them down, the Bengals immediately got back into action, sweeping Montana in Missoula before heading to Northern Colorado for a pivotal Big Sky Series. In Greeley, the Bengals took care of business winning game one, 5-3 before putting on a show in game two. The Bengals went into the second game of the doubleheader and turned on the offense, defeating the Bears 20-7 with 16 hits and two 7+ run innings.
The Bengals ended the 2024 regular season hosting the Weber State Wildcats. After dropping the first game, the Bengals came back in game two winning 7-6 in 10 innings. Idaho State then mercy-ruled the Wildcats in game 3 8-0.
In the 2024 Big Sky Tournament, hosted by the Bengals in Pocatello. Idaho State lost two tough games both 6-5 against Sacramento State and Portland State to end the season.
Preseason Rankings
The Idaho State Bengals were picked to finish No. 2 in the Big Sky Conference headed into the 2025 softball season.
The Big Sky regular season runner-ups, the Bengals were picked to finish second in the Coaches' Poll after a stellar 2024 regular season. The Bengals locked up a two-seed in the Big Sky Tournament and concluded their season with a 25-28 overall record under Andrew Rich.
Follow the Bengals
Follow the Bengals all-season long on social media to keep up to date with news on the team and photos and highlights of the Bengals.
Facebook: ISUSoftball
Twitter: @IdahoStateSB
Instagram: IdahoStateSoftball
