POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State split its opening day at the UNLV Rebel Classic on Thursday at Eller Media Stadium, falling to Utah Valley 16-6 in six innings before responding with an 8-6 victory over Valparaiso in the evening contest.
The Bengals move to 6-6 on the season after combining for 15 runs, three home runs, and a late pitching performance to secure the split.
Game One: Utah Valley 16, Idaho State 6 (6 innings)
Utah Valley used multiple big innings to pull away in the morning matchup.
The Wolverines opened the scoring in the first on a sacrifice fly to take a 1-0 lead. Idaho State answered in the second when Olivia Robison reached on an error, Alyssa Yee singled, and Camryn McDonald added a base hit to load the bases. Kira Day drew a bases-loaded walk to tie the game, and Belle Navarrete followed with an RBI single to give the Bengals a 2-1 advantage.
Utah Valley tied the game in the bottom of the second, but ISU surged back in the third. Jenna Kearns singled and, after a walk to McDonald, Day launched a three-run home run to deep left field to put Idaho State ahead 5-3.
The lead was short-lived. Utah Valley responded with four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 7-5 advantage, then added two in the fourth and two in the fifth to stretch the lead to 11-5.
Jaden Moore provided a spark in the sixth with a pinch-hit solo home run to right field, cutting the deficit to 11-6. Utah Valley answered in the bottom half with five runs, highlighted by a grand slam from Emma Haygood, to close out the 16-6 final in six innings.
Bengal Bites
• Kira Day went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run and four RBI.
• Jaden Moore hit a pinch-hit solo home run in the sixth inning.
• Belle Navarrete finished 3-for-3 with an RBI.
• Alyssa Yee recorded two hits and scored twice.
• Idaho State totaled nine hits in the contest.
Game Two: Idaho State 8, Valparaiso 6
The Bengals responded in the evening game, using a five-run sixth inning and a late two-run home run to secure the win.
Valparaiso took a 1-0 lead in the third on a sacrifice bunt and extended the advantage to 3-0 in the fourth following a two-run sequence that included an RBI double.
Idaho State broke through in the fifth when Jenna Kearns singled and later scored on an RBI single from Jaden Moore to cut the deficit to 3-1.
The Bengals exploded in the sixth. Alyssa Yee led off the inning with a solo home run to deep center field to make it 3-2. Sydney Groves followed with a single, and Jenna Kearns walked to put two on. After Ava Brown popped up for the first out, Skylar Williams delivered an RBI single to right center, scoring Groves and moving Kearns to third to tie the game at 3-3.
Hayden Hummel entered as a pinch runner for Williams and stole second. Olivia Robison then singled through the left side, scoring Kearns and advancing Hummel to third to give ISU a 4-3 lead. With Brooke Peterson running for Robison, Hummel stole home to extend the advantage to 5-3.
Kennedy Dudley followed with a double down the left field line, driving in Peterson from first base to cap the five-run frame and give Idaho State a 6-3 lead.
Valparaiso answered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game at 6-6.
In the seventh, Yee worked a walk and Groves reached on a fielder's choice before Ava Brown delivered the decisive blow, launching a two-run home run to deep center field to give the Bengals an 8-6 advantage.
Lizzy Tommasini entered in the sixth and closed the door, tossing 1.1 scoreless innings to earn her first win of the season.
Bengal Bites
• Idaho State improved to 6-6 overall on the season with the win.
• The Bengals moved to 4-2 this year when hitting two or more home runs in a game.
• Alyssa Yee's sixth-inning home run was her first of the 2026 season.
• Ava Brown's seventh-inning, two-run home run was her fifth of the season, which leads the team.
• Brown now has 14 RBI on the year, also a team high.
• Kennedy Dudley's RBI double in the sixth inning was her second double of the season.
• Hayden Hummel stole two bases in the sixth inning, giving her two stolen bases on the year and a perfect 2-for-2 mark in steal attempts.
• Idaho State scored five runs on five hits in the sixth inning, their biggest inning of the night.
• The Bengals are now 5-0 when leading after six innings this season.
• Idaho State has now scored 66 total runs through 12 games this year.
