POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State softball swept a Friday doubleheader at San Diego, winning 3-0 in the opener and holding on for a 3-2 decision in the nightcap to improve to 18-10 on the season. Kasey Aguinaga threw a complete-game shutout in Game 1, striking out eight without issuing a walk, while Kira Day sparked the nightcap with a solo home run and Marley Goluskin went the distance to close out the sweep at Reggie Smith Softball Complex.
GAME 1: Idaho State 3, San Diego 0
Aguinaga was dominant from start to finish, striking out eight and issuing no walks across seven complete innings as Idaho State shut out San Diego in the opener. Aguinaga allowed five hits and hit two batters but never allowed a run, stranding six San Diego baserunners. Sydney Groves provided the decisive blow with a two-run home run in the seventh inning.
Idaho State broke through in the second inning on an unearned run. Jenna Kearns reached on a throwing error by San Diego third baseman Michelle Delgado and advanced to second. Camryn McDonald moved Kearns to third with a sacrifice bunt, and after Kennedy Dudley popped out, Belle Navarrete singled to right field to score Kearns and give the Bengals a 1-0 lead.
San Diego worked through a lengthy second inning of their own, putting together a bases-loaded threat with two outs. After an infield single and a hit batter moved two runners into scoring position, a second hit batter loaded the bases, but not before two strikeouts had already been recorded. Aguinaga got a groundout to strand all three runners and keep the deficit at one.
The Bengals made up for missed chances in the seventh. With two outs, Ava Brown reached on an infield single to third base. Groves followed with a two-run home run to deep center field, scoring Brown and extending the Idaho State lead to 3-0. Aguinaga retired San Diego in order in the bottom of the seventh to complete the shutout.
Groves led the offense with three hits in four at bats, including the decisive home run, and drove in two runs. Navarrete provided the game's first RBI with her second-inning single. Robison went 1-for-1 in a pinch-hit appearance, and Kearns scored the game's first run after reaching on a Delgado throwing error in the second inning. Aguinaga's eight-strikeout, zero-walk line was the performance of the game, holding San Diego without a run despite allowing multiple baserunners in three separate innings.
GAME 2: Idaho State 3, San Diego 2
Game two another Bengals pitcher stepped up as Goluskin went the distance and Day sparked the offense with a solo home run in the second inning as Idaho State held on for a 3-2 victory in the nightcap. The Bengals built a three-run lead through five innings, then survived a two-run San Diego rally in the bottom of the seventh to complete the sweep.
Neither side scored in the first inning, though San Diego put pressure on early. Kaitlyn Wynia singled to right field to lead off the bottom of the first, and a Dudley fielding error on a sacrifice bunt attempt put runners at first and second. After a Johnson strikeout, a Kaylee Oh ground ball to short was initially ruled a base hit and RBI, but Idaho State challenged the call and a video review overturned the ruling, removing the run from the board and recorded the final out of the inning.
Idaho State broke through in the second when Day led off with a solo home run to left center field, her ninth of the season, to give the Bengals a 1-0 lead. Idaho State put two runners on later in the inning with a McDonald infield single and a Navarrete single but could not add to the lead.
Idaho State extended the lead to 2-0 in the fourth. Day singled through the left side and moved to second on a Kearns sacrifice bunt. McDonald then singled through the right side to score Day.
The Bengals pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fifth in a sequence that also saw the departure of McGreevey. Robison entered as a pinch hitter and singled down the right field line, with McGreevey returning to right field. Alyssa Yee singled to right center to move McGreevey to third. McGreevey then attempted to steal home but was thrown out. After a mound visit and a Brown strikeout, Groves singled to left center to score Yee and make it 3-0. Day walked and Kearns added an infield single to load the bases, but McDonald flied out to strand three runners as San Diego made a pitching change.
San Diego put a runner on second in the bottom of the sixth when a hit batter advanced on a groundout, but Goluskin and the Bengal defense escaped it.
The tension carried into the bottom of the seventh. Goluskin retired the first two batters before pinch hitter Emily Taylor singled up the middle and Wynia singled to right, moving Taylor to third. Michelle Delgado then singled through the right side to score Taylor and cut the deficit to 3-1. Mallory Axline followed with a single up the middle to score Wynia and make it 3-2, with Delgado advancing to third. A replay review on whether Axline left early was upheld, and Goluskin struck out Taylor Johnson looking to end the game and preserve the win.
Day finished 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and an RBI to pace the offense. Groves went 2-for-4 with an RBI. McDonald went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Robison again delivered in a pinch-hit role, going 1-for-1. Goluskin earned the complete-game win, allowing two runs on six hits with four strikeouts across seven innings.
BENGAL BITES
Idaho State improved to 18-10 overall with the doubleheader sweep, extending the program's current winning streak to eight consecutive games.
Kasey Aguinaga threw a complete-game shutout in Game 1, striking out eight batters without issuing a walk across seven innings. She is now 7-3 on the season with a 3.12 ERA and six complete games.
Sydney Groves hit a two-run home run to deep center field in the seventh inning of Game 1, her 10th home run of the season. She leads the team in home runs and RBI, batting .378 with 28 RBI in 28 games.
Groves totaled five hits across the doubleheader, going 3-for-4 in Game 1 and 2-for-4 in Game 2.
Kira Day hit a solo home run to left center in the second inning of Game 2, her ninth home run of the season. Day is batting .388 with 28 RBI and 19 runs scored in 22 games.
Day went 2-for-3 with a walk in Game 2, scoring twice and driving in one run.
Olivia Robison went a combined 2-for-2 in pinch-hit appearances across the two games, singling in each contest.
Camryn McDonald drove in a run in Game 2 with an RBI single through the right side in the fourth inning, finishing the doubleheader 2-for-6. McDonald is batting .346 on the season.
Marley Goluskin earned her fifth win of the season in Game 2, pitching a complete seven innings and stranding San Diego's tying run at third base in the final frame. Goluskin is 5-3 with a 2.90 ERA on the season.
Idaho State held San Diego to a combined two runs across 14 innings, with Aguinaga and Goluskin each throwing complete games on the day.
ON DECK
Idaho State returns to action Saturday for the series finale against San Diego at Reggie Smith Softball Complex with first pitch set for 1:00 PM MT
