POCATELLO Idaho State softball opened Big Sky Conference play with a commanding doubleheader sweep of Weber State on Saturday, winning 7-3 in the opener and 12-4 in the nightcap via run rule to improve to 25-13 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Alyssa Yee was electric across both games, going 6-for-8 with a grand slam, six RBI, and five runs scored. Head Coach Andrew Rich called the conference-opening sweep exactly what the Bengals were looking for. "You want to get off on the right foot and not have to be chasing wins," Rich said. "It's 15 games in five weeks and we gotta roll."
GAME 1: Idaho State 7, Weber State 3
Kasey Aguinaga delivered a sharp six-inning outing and Jaden Moore provided the decisive blow with a three-run home run as Idaho State controlled Game 1 from the outset. Yee led off the bottom of the first with a double to left center, and a Moore sacrifice fly sent her home to put the Bengals ahead 1-0.
Weber State grabbed the lead in the second on a pair of unearned runs, but Idaho State answered emphatically in the third. McDonald singled, Groves drew a walk, and Moore drove both home with a three-run home run to deep right field to restore a 4-2 Bengal lead. Rich highlighted the contribution of the lineup's middle section. "Anytime you can get 7, 8, 9 going as well, it makes us that much deeper, that much more dangerous," he said. "When there's people on base ahead of Alyssa, Ava, and Sid, it's hard to pitch to them."
Idaho State put the game away in the sixth with three more runs. Yee doubled to right field to score a runner from second, Brown followed with an RBI single to score Yee, and a third run came home on the base paths to make it 7-2. Wickum closed out the seventh for Idaho State. Aguinaga allowed just two unearned runs in six innings, walking one and striking out two.
Yee went 4-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI to pace the offense in Game 1. Moore finished 2-for-4 with the home run and four RBI. McDonald added two hits, and Brown contributed a double and an RBI.
GAME 2: Idaho State 12, Weber State 4 (5 innings)
Idaho State came out swinging in the nightcap, building an 8-0 lead through three innings before the run rule ended proceedings after five. Yee was the catalyst from the first pitch, and the Bengals set a tone that Rich described as exactly what they wanted from their conference home opener.
The Bengals scored in each of their first three innings. Yee doubled to lead off the first and both she and Brown scored on stolen base plays and a throwing error to make it 2-0. Yee added an RBI single in the second to extend the lead to 3-0. The third inning was the signature frame of the day. Kearns tripled to right center, Robison delivered an RBI single, and after Dudley and McDonald reached, Yee launched a grand slam to deep left field to clear the bases and push the lead to 8-0.
Yee described her mindset in the grand slam at bat. "The pressure is all on the pitcher," she said. "She threw me an inside pitch for a strike and then threw another mistake inside, so I decided to capitalize on that."
Weber State cut the deficit to 9-4 with four runs in the fourth, but Idaho State answered right back. Groves homered in the bottom of the fourth to make it 9-4, and McDonald added a home run to open the fifth. Brown followed with an RBI double and Moore capped the scoring with an RBI single to trigger the run rule at 12-4. Rich credited the film preparation the team put in during the week off. Yee and Groves both noted the thorough scouting that paid off at the plate. "We were in the film room every day this week watching pitchers," Groves said. "Just understanding what the plan was and how to execute." Groves also had a home run earlier in the game stolen at the fence, noting she was ready to turn on an inside pitch when the next opportunity came. "I turned on it and there it went," she said.
Goluskin started and earned the win in four innings, allowing four runs on four hits. Yee paced the offense with four hits including the grand slam and five RBI. Groves went 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. McDonald homered and drove in a run. Kearns contributed a triple. Moore went 2-for-4 with two RBI.
• Idaho State opens Big Sky Conference play 2-0, improving to 25-13 overall with the doubleheader sweep of Weber State.
• Alyssa Yee went 6-for-8 across both games with a grand slam, six RBI, and five runs scored. Rich called her performance the tone-setter for the day. "She set the table from the beginning and she's been doing that for four years," he said.
• Yee's grand slam in the third inning of Game 2 extended a four-run lead to eight runs with two outs, finishing 4-for-4 in that game with five RBI.
• Jaden Moore hit a three-run home run in the third inning of Game 1 to put Idaho State ahead for good. Moore drove in four runs on the day in the opener.
• Sydney Groves homered in the fourth inning of Game 2 and went a combined 3-for-6 across both games with two RBI.
• Camryn McDonald homered in Game 2 and went a combined 4-for-6 with two RBI across the doubleheader.
• Kasey Aguinaga improved to 9-4 on the season with a six-inning, two-unearned-run outing in Game 1, lowering her ERA to 3.14.
• Marley Goluskin earned the win in Game 2 to improve to 8-3 on the season. Idaho State's staff held Weber State to a .294 combined batting average across the two games.
• Idaho State is 25-13 overall and has won seven of its last eight games entering Sunday's series finale against Weber State.
Idaho State hosts Weber State in the Big Sky series finale on Sunday at Miller Ranch Stadium, first pitch is set for 1:00 PM MT
