LOGAN, Utah — Idaho State erupted for 13 runs on 18 hits Tuesday afternoon at Johnson Field, dismantling Utah State 13–2 in a wire-to-wire road win. Every inning featured scoring from the Bengals, who were led by a nearly flawless performance from pitcher Riley Wickum and a lineup that had nine different players contribute hits.
Andrew Rich Postgame Remarks
The scoring started early for Idaho State. Ava Brown singled to center and came home one pitch later on a double by Olivia Robison to left, giving the Bengals a 1–0 lead in the top of the first.
Utah State briefly answered with two runs in the bottom half, but that would be the last time the Aggies touched home plate
Riley Wickum out on a clinic in Logan, The junior right-hander went the distance, scattering just five hits and two earned runs over seven full innings. She struck out three, walked just one, and hit one batter. But more importantly, she never let Utah State build any momentum after the opening frame. Wickum retired 11 of the final 13 batters she faced and didn't allow a single runner past first base over the last four innings.
Wickum's control was sharp—94 pitches, 62 for strikes—and she kept the Aggies off balance with a mix of movement and changing speeds. She induced 12 groundouts and five flyouts, trusting her defense and keeping the ball out of trouble zones.
With Wickum dealing in the circle, the offense took care of the rest.
Idaho State tied it back up in the second. Camryn McDonald doubled to left center, then Rebecca Quinn followed with a single that took an extra base on the throw, driving in McDonald to make it 2–2.
In the third, Yee doubled to right center and Brown walked. During Robison's at-bat, Yee stole third and Brown stole second. Robison struck out and Kennedy Dudley came through with a clutch two-out single to right, bringing both runners home for a 4–2 Idaho State lead.
The Bengals tacked on another in the fourth. Quinn led off with a double to right center, and Jenna Kearns followed with a single up the middle to put runners at the corners. Navarrete grounded out to third but drove in Quinn, pushing the lead to 5–2.
Ava Brown continued her huge day in the fifth, blasting a solo homer to left field to make it 6–2. Robison followed with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Brooke Peterson, but she was thrown out on a fielder's choice. The Bengals left one on, but momentum remained firmly in their favor.
They broke the game open in the sixth. Kearns doubled, Navarrete singled, and both advanced on a double steal. Smith walked to load the bases. Yee punched a single through the left side to score Kearns, and Brown followed with a sacrifice fly to bring home Navarrete. Robison reached on an error by Utah State's second baseman, allowing Smith to score. Dudley then drew a walk to load the bases, but two outs ended the threat with the Bengals up 9–2.
In the seventh, Idaho State finished with another big pish. Smithdoubled to left, and Yee singled to shortstop to score Navarrete. Brown then singled up the middle to bring in Smith, and Robison added another RBI single up the middle to score Yee. Pinch runner Kate Hogan came in for Robison, and Dudley capped the inning with a fielder's choice RBI, scoring Brown to make it 13–2.
In total:
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Ava Brown went 3-for-3 with a home run, walk, 3 RBIs, 4 runs, a stolen base, and a sacrifice fly.
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Olivia Robison was 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs.
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Rebecca Quinn went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI, and run.
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Gracie Smith and Alyssa Yee both had multi-hit games, combining for five runs and four RBIs.
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Jenna Kearns was 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice.
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Kennedy Dudley drove in three runs with a hit and a walk.
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Belle Navarrete added a single, a stolen base, and scored twice.
Bengal Bites
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The Bengals had one of the most dominant offensive performances in the past eight years. Idaho State had 18 hits, the most since 18 against Weber State on 05/04/2023, the previous high being 22 against Buffalo on 03/02/2017. The team record is 23 against Bradley in 2012.
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The Bengals had a team-record tying six doubles in the win.
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Ava Brown hit her 16th homerun of the season, tying her for 3rd all-time in the Bengal record book. She now needs two more to tie Vicky Galasso's 2013 mark of 18.
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Gracie Smith stole her 17th base of the year, tying her with Rheanne Lewis in 2022 for 7th all-time in the Bengal record book.
On Deck
The Bengals head to Ogden this coming weekend for a rivalry series with the Weber State Wildcats. The Bengals play a double header Friday, April 11 and a series finale Saturday April 12
