Bengals Sweep Day One of Orange and Black Classic

"Man, great to be at home," said Head Coach Andrew Rich. "I think we got so used to having to open like five or six weeks on the road, but now with the turf, being able to be home in week five is just a huge advantage for us. We practice all year on it. We can't thank the grounds crew enough, and the facilities group that was out here busting their butts yesterday in the snow, busting their butts this morning to get this thing ready to go. You look outside the field and obviously you know that it snowed, but you look on the field and you wouldn't even know."

Idaho State came out of the gates aggressively, scoring four runs in the first inning and three more in the second to build a 7-0 advantage. The first-inning damage began with a Jenna Kearns double to right center that scored two runs, followed by a Kira Day run-scoring double and a Camryn McDonald RBI double that chased the ball into left field. In the second, Sydney Groves delivered the knockout blow with a three-run home run to deep left field, sending Alyssa Yee and Ava Brown home to push the lead to seven.

Southern Utah refused to fold. A McKenzy Becerra three-run home run to center in the third pulled the Thunderbirds to 7-3, and in the fourth, an error on a Kennedy Dudley fielding play opened the door for an Isabella Knight three-run home run that made it 7-6 and breathed new life into the visiting dugout.

Rich credited his team's composure in the face of the deficit-shrinking rally. "We did a great job of staying in control and doing what we needed to do in that spot," he said. "The two runs in the fifth were huge. We scored two runs with two outs in the fifth to add on and make it feel a little more comfortable, because you never know. A one-run lead is never comfortable here. So being able to add on those runs in the fifth, both with two outs too, was huge."

Idaho State answered the threat in the fifth when Day singled down the right field line, advanced to second on a bunt, and scored on a Kennedy Dudley single through the left side. A fielding error on the ensuing play then brought home an unearned run to make it 9-6 and give the Bengals the cushion they needed to close out the game.

In the circle, Marley Goluskin earned the win, pitching four innings while allowing six runs, three earned, on seven hits with four strikeouts. Riley Wickum entered in relief to begin the fifth and delivered a dominant closing performance, tossing three shutout innings on one hit with two strikeouts to seal the victory. Rich highlighted Wickum's outing as a significant moment for the bullpen. "Riley threw great. She was owning her stuff. She was throwing hard, she was in control of everything, and the way she closed that game out was huge. She's been really good the last two or three times that she's taken the circle, so really good to see her in that moment."

At the plate, Groves led Idaho State with three RBI on a pair of hits, including her first-inning home run. Kearns added two RBI on a double, and Day went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Yee and Brown each reached base multiple times, with Brown finishing 2-for-2 with two doubles.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, Idaho State rolled past Maine 12-4 in five innings, capitalizing on a dominant seven-run fourth inning to finish off the Black Bears. The win pushed the Bengals to 12-10 on the season and capped a sweep of day one at the Orange and Black Classic.

Idaho State was in command from the first pitch. The Bengals plated three runs in the bottom of the first on a Sydney Groves three-run home run to deep left field, which scored Alyssa Yee and Ava Brown. Idaho State added runs in the third when Brown stole home following a Jenna Kearns fielding error, and Kira Day followed with a solo home run to left field to push the advantage to 5-0.

Maine broke through in the top of the fourth with an RBI single from Madison Hand, cutting the deficit to 5-1. But the Bengals responded with a decisive seven-run bottom half of the inning to effectively end the contest. Kennedy Dudley led off with a walk, and after a series of substitutions and baserunning, Yee singled through the left side to score the first run of the inning. Brown then doubled to left center for two more RBI, and Day capped the explosion with a three-run home run to left field, her second of the game, sending Brown and Lexi Hinahara home to make it 12-1.

Maine rallied for three runs in the top of the fifth on a Francesca Guerrera three-run home run following two walks, bringing the final score to 12-4 before the run rule was invoked. With the game well in hand, Rich used the opportunity to cycle through his roster, getting bench players and freshmen meaningful at-bats and field time in game situations.

"We did a lot of good things," Rich said. "It was awesome to see the team's reaction to Mya's double, her first collegiate hit, and she smoked that thing in the gap. Kira had a huge day. We played pretty good defense. I thought Lizzie looked really good, which is good, we're slowly getting her going again, which is really encouraging considering in two weeks we open up conference play. There's some things we still need to clean up. We still haven't played our best at all this season, and that's not a bad thing. We're working towards it, building up for when we need to start playing our best."

Lizzy Tommasini earned the win in the circle, improving to 3-2 on the season after four strong innings, allowing just one run on two hits with four strikeouts. Josslin Law relieved in the fifth. Day was the offensive star of the game, going 2-for-3 with two home runs and four RBI. Groves added three RBI on a hit, and Brown finished 2-for-2 with two doubles and two runs scored. Mya Bartlett collected her first collegiate hit with a pinch-hit double to left center in the fourth inning.

Rich also addressed the value of getting the full roster into the game. "We have faith in all 28 of them. Some of them just haven't had the experience yet and there's a big group of freshmen that need to be on the field so they can get in those moments and get to bat, because everybody can help us out at any time during the season and they all know that they need to be ready at any moment."

•       Kira Day went 4-for-6 across the doubleheader with two home runs and five RBI, posting a 1.833 slugging percentage on the day.

•       Sydney Groves homered in both games, finishing 3-for-7 with two home runs and six RBI across the doubleheader.

•       Ava Brown went 4-for-5 with four doubles and five runs scored across both games, batting .800 with a 1.600 slugging percentage on the day.

•       Alyssa Yee went 3-for-6 with four runs scored and batted .500 on the day.

•       Mya Bartlett recorded her first collegiate hit, a pinch-hit double to left center in Game 2.

•       Idaho State batted .420 as a team with a .840 slugging percentage across the doubleheader, collecting 21 hits in 50 at-bats.

•       The Bengal pitching staff combined for 13 strikeouts against three walks across 12 innings of work.

•       Riley Wickum allowed no runs across three innings of relief in Game 1, finishing the day with a 0.00 ERA and two strikeouts.

•       Lizzy Tommasini improved to 3-2 on the season, allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts in four innings in Game 2.

•       Idaho State outscored opponents 21-10 across the doubleheader, scoring in five of seven innings played.

•       Game 2 was shortened to five innings via the run rule.

•       Friday marked Idaho State's first home games of the 2026 season, played at Miller Ranch Stadium in Pocatello.

Idaho State overall record: 12-10

Southern Utah overall record (entering game): 10-14

Maine overall record (entering game): 4-12

Day two of the Orange and Black Classic continues Saturday at Miller Ranch Stadium. Maine and Southern Utah open the day at 11:00 a.m. Idaho State is also scheduled to compete on Saturday following the neutral site game.

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