POCATELLO, Idaho – The Bengals continue the 2026 Big Sky Conference campaign hosting the Portland State Vikings in a three-game series this weekend at Miller Ranch Stadium. Games one and two are set for Friday April 3 at 1:00 and 3:30. Game three is scheduled for Saturday, April 4 at 1:00 PM.
All three games will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Logan Kelso and Taylor Fitzgerald on the call, live stats will also be available for all three games.
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The Field
Idaho State Bengals
Portland State Vikings
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Conference play continues at Miller Ranch
Idaho State enters the Portland State series at 25-14 overall and 2-1 in Big Sky Conference play, currently tied for second in the standings behind Montana. Idaho State has won 15 of their last 19 contests going into the series with the Vikings.
Brown leads the conference
Ava Brown has been one of the most productive hitters in the Big Sky Conference all season, hitting .325 with 11 home runs and a conference-leading 36 RBI through 39 games. She leads the Big Sky outright in RBI, has drawn two intentional walks, and paces the team with 16 walks, a sign of how opposing pitchers have chosen to navigate around her in the lineup.
Day delivers in bunches
Kira Day continues to produce at an elite rate in limited appearances, hitting .313 with 9 home runs and 29 RBI in just 27 starts. Her .791 slugging percentage ranks among the best in the Big Sky Conference and her ability to change a game with one swing has made her one of the most dangerous hitters in the lineup whenever inserted. Day has posted multiple RBI in seven games this season, including one five-RBI and one four-RBI performance.
Yee leads the conference in runs
Alyssa Yee has emerged as one of the most productive offensive players in the Big Sky, leading the conference with 38 runs scored and ranking first in the conference and 50th nationally in runs per game at 0.97. Yee is hitting .388 with 47 hits, 14 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 33 RBI, and 11 stolen bases, giving the Bengals a consistent threat at the top of the order who can beat teams with both contact and speed. Yee earned Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors following her performance in the Weber State series.
Groves powering the middle
Sydney Groves is among the Big Sky Conference leaders in home runs with 12 and sits second in the conference in RBI with 35. She is hitting .333 with a .709 slugging percentage and ranks among the national leaders in home runs, with her ability to drive the ball out of the park making her one of the most complete power threats in the conference.
Dominating the RBI column
Idaho State owns four of the top spots in the Big Sky Conference RBI leaderboard. Brown leads at 36, Groves sits second at 35, Yee is third at 33, and Day adds 29 from her spot in the order. Having four players among the conference's top RBI producers from the same lineup reflects the kind of across-the-board offensive depth that makes Idaho State exceptionally difficult to game plan against.
Power from everywhere
Idaho State has hit 48 home runs through 39 games, ranking 37th nationally and first in the Big Sky with 1.23 home runs per game. The team is hitting .316 as a team with a .552 slugging percentage, ranking 35th nationally in slugging, giving Idaho State multiple ways to generate runs from top to bottom on any given night.
Owning the slugging leaderboard
Idaho State does not just lead the Big Sky Conference in slugging percentage as a team, it dominates the individual leaderboard as well. Four Bengal hitters rank among the conference's top individual slugging performers, with Jaden Moore leading the way at .804, Kira Day at .791, Ava Brown at .719, and Sydney Groves at .709. No other program in the Big Sky comes close to that kind of concentration at the top of a single offensive category.
Moore emerging as a force
Jaden Moore has established herself as one of the most productive hitters in the Big Sky Conference, batting .471 with 24 hits, five doubles, four home runs, and 17 RBI across 27 games and 13 starts. Moore leads the conference in batting average and ranks among the leaders in slugging percentage at .804, giving Idaho State another dangerous option in a lineup that already features some of the most prolific producers in the conference.
Dominant offensively across the board
Idaho State leads the Big Sky Conference in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.392), slugging percentage (.552), home runs (48), runs scored (243), RBI (224), doubles (75), hits (312), and walks (116). Nationally the Bengals rank fifth in doubles, 28th in RBI, 29th in hits, 30th in runs scored, and 35th in slugging percentage, making them one of the most productive offenses in the country at any level.
Early leads, consistent results
Idaho State has been dominant when getting in front first. The Bengals are 21-1 when leading after four innings, 21-0 when leading after six, and 20-5 when scoring first. Conversely they are 1-9 when trailing after four and 1-11 when trailing after six. Combined with the most productive first-inning output in the Big Sky, establishing the lead early has been the clearest formula for a Bengal win all season.
Winning the hit column
When Idaho State out-hits its opponent, it wins. The Bengals have not lost a game this season when recording more hits than the opposing team, and have struggled when out-hit. That correlation is as clean as any split in the stats and puts a premium on the lineup sustaining pressure from top to bottom rather than relying on a single big inning.
Aguinaga and Goluskin anchoring the circle
Kasey Aguinaga and Marley Goluskin have developed into one of the most productive pitching tandems in the Big Sky Conference. Aguinaga leads the conference with nine wins across 75.0 innings with six complete games and a 2.89 ERA, holding opponents to a .261 average. Goluskin is second in the conference with eight wins and carries a 2.64 ERA across 66.1 innings with 52 strikeouts and a .240 opponent average. Together they account for 17 of Idaho State's 25 wins and have combined for ten complete games on the season.
Weber State Series
Idaho State took two of three from Weber State in its first Big Sky Conference series of the season, winning 7-3 and 12-4 before falling 8-11 in the finale. Over the three-game stretch the Bengals hit .420 as a team with 34 hits, 27 runs, and seven home runs, slugging .790 with 15 extra-base hits. Idaho State outscored Weber State 27-18 across the series and held opponents to a .326 batting average.
Alyssa Yee was the offensive catalyst of the series, earning Big Sky Conference Player of the Week honors for her performance. Yee hit .750 across three games with nine hits, four doubles, two home runs, nine RBI, and seven runs scored while posting a 1.583 slugging percentage. Camryn McDonald was equally productive, hitting .625 with five hits, two home runs, and four RBI across six at-bats. Jaden Moore hit .600 with six hits and two RBI in 10 at-bats, and Jenna Kearns added a .400 average with four hits and an RBI. Kennedy Dudley contributed a .429 average with three hits and two RBI.
Idaho State scored three runs in the first inning across the series, setting early momentum in each contest, and put up a season-high 12 runs in the middle game to run-rule the Wildcats in five innings. The Bengals produced 15 walks as a team over the three games, consistently putting traffic on the bases.
In the circle, Kasey Aguinaga started and won Game 1, holding Weber State to two runs across six innings with two strikeouts. Marley Goluskin earned the win in Game 2, allowing four runs across four innings while the offense provided run support early. As a staff Idaho State pitchers combined for a 4.79 ERA across 19.0 innings with 15 strikeouts, holding Weber State to a .326 batting average over the three-game series.
2026 Outlook
Idaho State Bengals softball enters the 2026 season with significant momentum after one of the strongest campaigns in program history. The Bengals finished 37–17 overall and 13–2 in conference play in 2025, showcasing consistency across all environments with an 8–5 home record, 15–8 mark on the road, and 14–4 record at neutral sites. Idaho State paired offensive firepower with pitching depth throughout the season, dominating the Big Sky regular season crown.
Offensively, the Bengals return nearly their entire core from a lineup that produced a .311 team batting average, 72 home runs, and 316 RBI in 2025. Senior Ava Brown headlines the group after a dominant season at the plate, batting .371 with 25 home runs and 66 RBI, serving as the centerpiece of a lineup that consistently applied pressure. Fellow senior Alyssa Yee was equally impactful, hitting .386 while scoring 59 runs and driving in 42 more, reaching base at a high clip and setting the table at the top of the order.
Idaho State also brings back a deep group of experienced hitters throughout the lineup. Senior Gracie Smith turned in a .398 batting average with 12 home runs, while senior Olivia Robison provided consistent production in the middle of the order, batting .308 with 33 RBI. Junior Camryn McDonald and junior Jenna Kearns offer stability and versatility defensively while contributing key offensive innings, and senior Kennedy Dudley remains a dependable presence after starting nearly every game a season ago.
The Bengals further bolster an already potent offense with the addition of senior Sydney Groves, who transferred to Idaho State after three standout seasons at Boise State. Groves brings extensive Division I production and postseason experience, highlighted by NFCA All-Pacific Region First Team honors in 2024 and multiple All-Mountain West selections. As a junior in 2025, she appeared in 50 games with 40 starts and hit .336 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI, following a sophomore campaign in which she blasted 18 home runs and drove in a Boise State single-season record 57 RBI. A former D1Softball National Player of the Week and three-time Mountain West Player of the Week, Groves adds immediate power, experience, and leadership to an already deep Bengal lineup.
In the circle, Idaho State returns a fully intact pitching staff from 2025, a rarity entering a new season. The Bengals posted a 3.64 team ERA last year and logged more than 348 innings, with four pitchers throwing at least 68 innings apiece. Senior Kasey Aguinaga led the staff with 96.1 innings pitched, while sophomore Megan Meracle emerged as a strikeout presence with 72 punchouts in 83.1 innings. Redshirt sophomore Lizzy Tommasini and senior Riley Wickum added valuable depth, with each making double-digit starts. Junior Marley Goluskin also returns after missing time due to injury, bringing back proven experience after a 2024 season in which she posted a 9–7 record with a 3.25 ERA and earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors. With additional innings returning from Kaliann Scoresby and Josslin Law, Idaho State enters 2026 with both experience and flexibility in the pitching rotation.
Defensively, the Bengals showed consistency behind the plate and in the field, turning 24 double plays and holding opponents to a .281 batting average. That balance between offense, pitching, and defense allowed Idaho State to control games late and succeed in close contests throughout the season.
Preseason Honors
The Big Sky Conference released its 2026 preseason softball awards, and Idaho State Bengals softball was well represented following its 2025 regular-season championship run. Voted on by the league's six head coaches, Idaho State led the conference with five preseason All-Conference selections and senior outfielder Ava Brown was named the Big Sky Preseason Most Valuable Player after a historic season at the plate.
Brown was joined on the preseason All-Conference team by Jenna Kearns, Alyssa Yee, Kasey Aguinaga, and Lizzy Tommasini, giving the Bengals representation across every phase of the game. The five selections tied for the most in the league and reflected Idaho State's balance of offensive production, pitching depth, and veteran experience heading into the 2026 season.
Preseason Poll
The Big Sky Conference preseason coaches' poll placed Idaho State Bengals softball at the top heading into the 2026 season, as the Bengals were picked to finish first among the league's six programs. Idaho State earned five first-place votes and a league-best 25 points after capturing the 2025 regular-season title.
Weber State was selected second in the poll following its Big Sky Tournament championship, while Sacramento State finished third after receiving the remaining first-place vote. Northern Colorado, Portland State, and Montana rounded out the preseason order as Idaho State enters the year as the league favorite.
Big Sky Players/Pitchers of the Week
Idaho State Slugger Jenna Kearns was awarded the first Big Sky Player of the week award in the 2026 after her performance at the 2026 Fresno State Kickoff Classic.
Award Winners
- 2/9/2026 – Jenna Kearns – Player of the Week
- 03/09/2026 – Riley Wickum – Pitcher of the Week
- 03/09/2026 Kira Day - Player of the Week
- 03/16/2026 – Kasey Aguinaga – Pitcher of the Week
- 03/16/2026 – Sydney Groves – Player of the Week
- 03/23/2026 – Camryn McDonald – Player of the Week
- 03/23/2026 – Marley Goluskin – Pitcher of the Week
- 03/30/2026 – Alyssa Yee – Player of the Week
Scouting the Vikings
Portland State enters the series at 10-22 overall and 0-3 in Big Sky Conference play under a four-game losing streak, having been swept at Montana to open conference play last weekend. The Vikings are 2-3 at home and 2-10 in true road games, making this trip to Pocatello a particularly challenging environment. Portland State has shown the ability to compete in close games, dropping a pair of one-run decisions in extra innings earlier this season against Hawaii and LMU, and the team rallied from a three-run deficit in the Montana series finale before ultimately falling 5-4. The Vikings open Big Sky play without a conference win through three games.
Portland State is hitting .251 as a team with 114 runs scored and a .343 slugging percentage through 32 games. The offense has produced 16 home runs and leans on contact and situational hitting rather than power. Abigail Carsley has been one of the more consistent producers in the lineup, driving in runs in multiple appearances and providing pop from both sides of the order. Mia Martinez has also contributed with home run production, including a two-run shot in the Montana series finale. Nichole Orozco and Grace Johnson provide additional on-base presence, with Johnson leading the team in stolen bases at 15 on 15 attempts. As a team Portland State has drawn 87 walks, keeping opponents honest and consistently putting traffic on the bases despite a modest team batting average.
In the circle Portland State carries a 5.68 team ERA across 205.2 innings with 120 strikeouts and 107 walks allowed, a ratio that has created sustained pressure on the defense throughout the season. Sherreigh Nakoa-Chung has been the staff workhorse, leading the team in innings pitched and strikeouts while making 14 starts. Gracie Walters has provided complementary work, and the two have combined for the bulk of the Vikings' workload. Opponents are hitting .320 against the Portland State staff with 27 home runs allowed, and the Vikings have committed 40 errors in 32 games for a .956 team fielding percentage. Portland State catchers have allowed 56 stolen base attempts on the season,
On Deck
The Bengals hit the road next week, heading to Greeley, Colo., for a meeting with the Northern Colorado Bears. The two teams will battle it out Friday and Saturday April 10-11.
