POCATELLO, Idaho - Camryn McDonald delivered a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to complete a 7-6 comeback victory in the opener, and Idaho State followed with a 2-1 win in the nightcap to sweep the Saturday doubleheader against Seattle University and improve to 22-13 on the season. The 12-inning marathon ties for the second-longest game in program history and marks the first Bengal win in a 12-inning contest. Head Coach Andrew Rich praised the team's character after a grueling day that included a fourth-game-in-three-days stretch. "I'm just really proud of the effort and the way they stayed in it all day long," Rich said. "They grinded it out. They found a way."
GAME 1: Idaho State 7, Seattle U 6 (12 innings)
Riley Wickum got the start and threw 6.1 innings in a competitive outing, but it was Aguinaga's relief work that kept the Bengals alive in extra innings. Aguinaga entered mid-game and spun 5.2 scoreless innings, holding Seattle without a run from the moment she entered through the 12th. She also returned to close out the final inning after nearly pitching a full game in relief.
Idaho State found itself in a two-run hole after Seattle scored in the third on an RBI single and added a solo home run in the fourth to lead 2-0. McDonald responded with a two-run double to left center in the bottom of the fourth, scoring two runs to tie the game at 2-2. Seattle reclaimed the lead in the fifth on a two-run home run to go up 4-2, and Idaho State pulled within one on a Moore RBI single to make it 4-3. The visitors then added two more in the top of the seventh to take a 6-3 advantage heading into the bottom half.
That is when the Bengals showed what Rich called the full effort of the entire group. Moore reached on a fielder's choice that scored Groves to make it 6-4, Navarrete followed with another fielder's choice that plated Peterson for a 6-5 game, and McDonald singled to shallow left field to score Moore and tie it at six. The crowd at Miller Ranch Stadium had a game.
Five scoreless innings of extra play followed, with neither side able to break through despite several opportunities. Aguinaga held Seattle scoreless through every inning she worked, and her ability to keep coming back out was a major factor in keeping the Bengals alive long enough for McDonald's heroics. In the dugout, Rich had a feeling about how it would end. "It felt like it wasn't ever going to end," Rich said. "It felt like it was gonna have to be a home run at some point. Either way, one of the two teams."
In the bottom of the 12th, McDonald made that prediction come true. She launched the first pitch she saw to deep left field for a walk-off home run, sending Idaho State to a 7-6 victory. McDonald admitted she did not see it the whole way. "I was busting around the bases and then it accidentally went out," she said. Rich was effusive in his praise for her performance on the day, which also included a two-RBI double in the fourth inning. "I'm so happy for Cam," Rich said. "She's been working her butt off and grinding out at bats, and today it started to kinda show itself."
The win also served as a redemption outing for Aguinaga, who had a difficult start against Oregon State two days earlier. Coming in from the bullpen, she did not allow a run across 5.2 innings and returned to pitch the 12th to close it out, retiring the top of the Seattle order in the final frame. "Kasey was fantastic," Rich said. "That was a tough spot to bring her in in the first game. She got out of a jam, kept us in the ball game, gave us a shot, and then to come back in after she just threw pretty much a whole game and still look that fresh with her best stuff was exciting to see." Aguinaga credited her mental approach for the bounce-back. "Every day's a new day," she said. "If I have a rough game, I always just tell myself to have a short memory and flush it."
McDonald led all hitters with four hits, including the double and the walk-off home run, and drove in four runs. Moore went 2-for-5 with two RBI. Kearns had two hits and scored once across six plate appearances.
GAME 2: Idaho State 2, Seattle U 1
The nightcap was a tense one-run affair from the outset. Goluskin got the start and was sharp through five innings, and the Bengals rode their first-inning lead all the way to the final out.
Alyssa Yee walked to lead off the bottom of the first and promptly stole second. Brown tripled to right field to score Yee, and Groves followed with a sacrifice fly to right to plate Brown and put Idaho State ahead 2-0 before Seattle had recorded an out.
Goluskin was sharp throughout, holding the Redhawks to a single run on a sixth-inning RBI double. She struck out four and allowed six hits across 5.2 innings before Aguinaga entered in relief and closed out the final threat to preserve the 2-1 win. Rich noted the back-to-back one-run victories carried particular significance heading into conference play. "We had a losing record in one-win games coming into today," Rich said. "Back-to-back one-run wins is huge. We're gonna be in those kind of games in conference and we gotta be able to finish them out."
McDonald contributed an infield single, and Navarrete and Moore each went 2-for-3 with a double. Brown finished 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI.
• Idaho State is 22-13 overall after the sweep and has won four consecutive games heading into Sunday's series finale against Seattle University.
• Saturday's 12-inning Game 1 ties for the second-longest game in program history. Idaho State has now played three 12-inning games and one 18-inning game (W 2-1 vs Weber State in the 1983 season). The win improves the program's all-time record in 12-inning games to 1-2 and marks the first Bengal victory in a 12-inning contest since the program first played one. It is also the first 12-inning game for Idaho State since 2019.
• Camryn McDonald went 4-for-5 with a double, a walk-off home run, and four RBI in Game 1. She hit the go-ahead homer on the first pitch of the 12th inning.
• Kasey Aguinaga did not allow a run across 5.2 innings in Game 1 and returned to close out the 12th inning, retiring the top of the Seattle order to end the marathon. She is now 8-4 on the season.
• Marley Goluskin earned the win in Game 2, allowing one run on six hits with four strikeouts across 5.2 innings. She is now 7-3 on the season with a 2.72 ERA.
• Ava Brown's first-inning triple in Game 2 sparked the two-run opening frame that held as the margin of victory.
• Idaho State won back-to-back one-run games for the first time this season and also came from behind in the seventh inning to tie a game for the first time all year, per Rich after the game.
• Jaden Moore went a combined 4-for-8 with three RBI across both games on the day, including two RBI in Game 1.
• The Bengals played their fourth and fifth games in three days on Saturday, completing the Oregon State series Friday before hosting the Seattle U doubleheader.
Idaho State hosts Seattle University in the series finale on Sunday at Miller Ranch
