Bengals Stay Winning at Home, Sweep Day Two of Orange and Black Classic

POCATELLO, Idaho - Idaho State softball completed a perfect day two at the Orange and Black Classic on Saturday, defeating Southern Utah 2-1 and shutting out Maine 11-0 at Miller Ranch Stadium to move to 14-10 on the season. The Bengals received complete-game efforts from Kasey Aguinaga and Riley Wickum, extending their winning streak to four games. "It's been a struggle to put together two games in a day throughout the year," said Head Coach Andrew Rich. "To do it on back-to-back days has been really nice to see, especially as we're building towards conference play in a few weeks." Idaho State picked up a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Southern Utah in the opener, improving to 13-10 on the season. Aguinaga went the distance in the circle, and a go-ahead RBI single from Jaden Moore in the fifth inning proved to be the decisive blow as the Bengals held off the Thunderbirds in a tight seven-inning contest.

Rich credited Aguinaga's ability to command the game from start to finish. "She worked ahead, made them work and earn their opportunities to score runs," he said. "She did a really good job. When things got tight, there were a couple opportunities for them to have some run-scoring situations, and she threw great, she was in control the whole time."

Both offenses were quiet through the first three innings as Aguinaga and Southern Utah starter Hannah Duncan matched each other pitch for pitch. Idaho State had an early threat in the first, when Alyssa Yee singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but the Bengals could not bring her home. The game remained scoreless through three innings, with Aguinaga retiring the Thunderbirds in order in the second while Southern Utah left runners stranded in both the first and third frames.
Idaho State broke through in the fourth inning when Sydney Groves drove a solo home run to deep left field, giving the Bengals a 1-0 advantage. Rich highlighted the contribution of Groves throughout the weekend. "She's just professional in the batter's box every single time," he said. "She's gonna get in there, get her swings off, swing at the right pitches. She can come back and give really good information to our hitters. She's somebody who, when she's seeing things well, it flows through the rest of the lineup. She hammers mistakes, and that's always a nice thing to have."

Southern Utah answered in the top of the fifth. Michelle De la Cruz reached on a hit by pitch and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Alayah Toscano. After a groundout moved De la Cruz to third, she scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1 and set up a tense final three innings.

Idaho State responded immediately in the bottom of the fifth. Camryn McDonald singled through the right side, and after Kennedy Dudley moved her to second with a sacrifice bunt, Moore entered as a pinch hitter and delivered a single to left field that scored McDonald and put the Bengals back in front 2-1. Rich praised Moore's ability to come through in high-leverage situations. "Jaden just thrives in those moments," he said. "A one-to-one game, runner at second base, we needed a big hit. She's aggressive, she gets out there, she knows what she wants, she gets her swings off. JD does such a good job in that role. Really, I feel like every time that she's in a role like that, she's gonna come through and get a knock to help the team, and that obviously decided the game right there."

With the 2-1 lead in hand, Aguinaga locked down the final two innings. Southern Utah put two runners on in the seventh, with singles by Alayna Maake and Taralyn Ollison sandwiching a flyout by Isabella Knight, but Aguinaga induced a final groundout from Michaella Salvatier to seal the win. Aguinaga finished the complete game allowing one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts and one walk, improving to 6-3 on the season.
Groves finished 1-for-2 with a walk and her solo home run providing the game's first run. McDonald went 1-for-2 and scored the winning run. Moore delivered the go-ahead RBI in her only plate appearance. Yee added a single and reached base twice for Idaho State.
  Idaho State closed out day two of the Orange and Black Classic in dominant fashion, shutting out Maine 11-0 in five innings to complete a four-game sweep of the tournament and push the program's overall record to 14-10. Riley Wickum was masterful in the circle, tossing a complete-game shutout while the Bengal offense erupted for nine runs in the first inning to put the game well out of reach.

The Bengals wasted no time in the nightcap. Maine starter Alysen Rieth could not record an out, as Idaho State sent 12 batters to the plate in the first inning and scored nine runs before the frame was finished. The rally began with Yee reaching on a single, followed by walks to Groves and Kira Day to load the bases. Jaden Moore singled to right field to score Yee, and Kennedy Dudley drew a bases-loaded walk to score Day. Skyler Williams then walked to bring home another run, and Chloe McGreevey was hit by a pitch to force in a fourth run of the inning. Yee drew a walk to score a fifth run before Ava Brown capped the explosion with a grand slam to deep right field, clearing the bases and pushing the lead to 9-0 before Maine could record an out.

Rich credited the team's approach at the plate for setting the tone. "It's huge," he said. "It's been a struggle to put together two games in a day throughout the year, and so to do it on back-to-back days has been really nice to see, especially as we're building towards conference play in a few weeks. It was really good to see us come out. We did a great job taking our walks, and we did a great job on defense that game too to keep them at zero and finish out a shutout."

Maine went quietly in the top of the second, with Wickum striking out the side. Idaho State added two more runs in the bottom half when Williams singled up the middle to score McDonald, and McGreevey doubled to left field to bring home Lexi Hinahara, extending the lead to 11-0. Wickum held Maine scoreless the rest of the way, working around a two-walk second inning and completing the shutout with four strikeouts across five innings on five hits.

Rich praised Wickum's back-to-back performances over the two days. "Riley was awesome," he said. "Back-to-back days, after what she did yesterday against Southern Utah, to come back out in a starting situation and really throw the ball well. She took her time, collected herself, got right back to it, pounded the zone, trusted the defense. You can see the life and the energy that she has in the circle, and that's a lot of fun to see out of her."

Brown was the offensive star of Game 2, going 1-for-2 with a grand slam and four RBI. McGreevey finished 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI, while Williams went 1-for-1 with two RBI and a walk. Moore added an RBI single and Dudley drove in a run on a bases-loaded walk. Wickum improved to 2-2 on the season, allowing no runs on five hits with four strikeouts and three walks across five innings to earn the win.
  •Kasey Aguinaga threw a complete-game seven-inning win in Game 1, allowing one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts, improving to 6-3 on the season.
•Riley Wickum threw a complete-game shutout in Game 2, her second consecutive scoreless outing after three shutout relief innings on Day 1. She now carries a 0.00 ERA across eight innings this tournament.
•Ava Brown hit a grand slam in the first inning of Game 2, her first home run of the season, finishing the day with four RBI.
•Sydney Groves homered in Game 1 for her third home run of the tournament, giving her seven RBI across the four-game weekend.
•Jaden Moore delivered a go-ahead RBI single as a pinch hitter in the fifth inning of Game 1, her second consecutive clutch pinch-hit contribution of the weekend.
•Idaho State scored nine runs in the first inning of Game 2, sending 12 batters to the plate before Maine recorded an out.
•The Bengals drew six walks in Game 2's first inning alone, with three of those walks coming around to score.
•Idaho State outscored opponents 34-11 across all four games of the Orange and Black Classic, going 4-0 in the tournament.
•The team batting average for the tournament stands at .374 with a .681 slugging percentage across 91 at-bats.
•The Bengal pitching staff finished day 2 with a combined 2.33 ERA across 24 innings, striking out 21 batters against seven walks.
  Idaho State overall record: 14-10
Idaho State home record: 4-0
  Idaho State closes out the Orange and Black Classic on Sunday with one final contest against Maine at 11:30 a.m. at Miller Ranch Stadium in Pocatello.
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