POCATELLO Idaho State softball split a home doubleheader with Oregon State on Thursday, falling 9-4 in the opener before rebounding with a dominant 9-1 run-rule victory in Game 2 at Miller Ranch Stadium. The Bengals stand at 19-13 overall heading into Friday's series finale. Marley Goluskin tossed a complete-game six innings in the nightcap, and Sydney Groves drove in four runs on a three-run home run to pace the offense.
GAME 1: Oregon State 9, Idaho State 4
Idaho State struck first in Game 1 and held a 2-1 edge through two innings before Oregon State broke the game open with eight combined runs in the third and fourth innings. The Bengals showed resilience late, mounting a two-run sixth to make the final 9-4.
Jaden Moore sparked the Bengal offense in the second inning, doubling to right center to score Kira Day and give Idaho State the early lead. After a Jenna Kearns sacrifice bunt moved Moore to third, Kennedy Dudley plated her with a sacrifice fly to right to put the Bengals up 2-0.
Head Coach Andrew Rich pointed to Moore's contributions as a bright spot on the day. "Jay's had good at bats, good at bats all season," Rich said. "She had a RBI double in the first game and she was on base a bunch. Just good at bats all day long. She executes, and that's a good spot for her to be in behind those first four hitters that are doing a really good job."
Oregon State answered in the bottom of the second, pulling within one on an RBI groundout, before erupting for four runs in the third inning on a three-run home run and a solo shot to take a 6-2 lead. The Beavers added three more in the fourth on a pair of RBI and a sacrifice fly to extend the advantage to 9-2.
The Bengals made things interesting in the sixth, using a pair of pinch-hit singles from Brooke Peterson and Olivia Robison to set the table. Groves followed with an RBI single up the middle to score Peterson, and Moore added an RBI single to left to score the fourth run of the game. Idaho State could not add further, however, and the final stood at 9-4.
Kasey Aguinaga started and allowed five runs in 2.2 innings. Riley Wickum entered in relief and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs. Moore finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI to lead the offense. Groves added two hits and an RBI, and Peterson and Robison each went 1-for-1 in pinch-hit roles.
GAME 2: Idaho State 9, Oregon State 1 (6 innings)
The Bengals responded with their most complete performance in recent weeks, riding a three-run first inning and Goluskin's sharp pitching to a run-rule victory in six innings. Rich credited the team's energy and the tone set by scoring first.
"Really proud of how they bounced back," Rich said. "Looked more like ourselves. We had good energy, we swung with intent all day long, threw a lot of strikes in the circle with Marley, big clean defense behind her. When we scored first, good things happen. That was a big deal."
Alyssa Yee set the tone immediately, leading off the bottom of the first with a triple down the left field line. Ava Brown followed with an RBI single to right to score Yee, and Groves doubled down the left field line to score Brown. After a pitching change, Day was hit by pitch, Moore bunted to advance the runners, and Kearns delivered a sacrifice fly to right to push the lead to 3-0 after one inning.
Idaho State added a run in the third when Brown reached on a fielding error and scored on a Kearns fielder's choice that benefited from another Oregon State error. The Bengals then broke the game open in the fourth. Navarrete singled and Brown followed with another single, and Groves launched a three-run home run to deep center field to make it 7-0.
The Bengals pushed further in the fifth when Kearns singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error. A bases-loaded single by Yee up the middle scored Kearns to make it 8-1, and Brown capped the scoring with a solo home run to center in the sixth to set the final at 9-1.
Goluskin earned the complete-game win, allowing one run on two hits with five strikeouts and two walks across six innings. Rich highlighted her performance against a quality opponent. "Really proud of Marley for the way that she attacked," Rich said. "That's a good hitting team on the other side with Oregon State."
Brown was the offensive catalyst, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI while scoring four runs. Groves went 2-for-3 with a three-run home run and four RBI. Yee went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. Kearns drove in two runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
• Idaho State is 19-13 overall after Thursday's split, with the series rubber match against Oregon State set for Friday at Miller Ranch Stadium.
• Sydney Groves hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning of Game 2, her 11th home run of the season. She drove in four runs on the day across both games.
• Ava Brown went 3-for-4 in Game 2 with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored. Brown is batting .344 on the season with 10 home runs.
• Marley Goluskin earned the complete-game win in Game 2, striking out five in six innings while allowing one run on two hits. She is now 6-3 on the season.
• Alyssa Yee led off the bottom of the first in Game 2 with a triple down the left field line, igniting a three-run inning that set the tone for the victory.
• Jaden Moore went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in Game 1, contributing an RBI double in the second inning and an RBI single in the sixth.
• Brooke Peterson and Olivia Robison each delivered pinch-hit singles in the sixth inning of Game 1 to start the late rally.
• Idaho State scored in the first inning of Game 2 for the third time in its last four games, going 3-0 this season when scoring first.
Idaho State returns to action Friday for the rubber match of the series against Oregon State at Miller Ranch Stadium.
