GREELEY, Colo. Lizzy Tommasini delivered six shutout innings and Brown, Groves, and Moore went back-to-back-to-back with two outs in the third inning as Idaho State closed out the Northern Colorado series with a 5-0 victory on Saturday. The Bengals win the series two games to one and improve to 29-16 overall and 5-3 in Big Sky Conference play. Head Coach Andrew Rich credited both the pitching and the timely power. "Lizzy was great today in the circle," Rich said. "She's been throwing the ball real well lately and good to see her hitting her stride as we wind down here."
GAME RECAP: Idaho State 5, Northern Colorado 0
Tommasini held Northern Colorado to two hits across six innings, walking two and striking out one in a crisp two-hour performance. Aguinaga closed the final inning with three strikeouts to complete the combined shutout, Idaho State's seventh of the season.
Idaho State built its lead methodically in the second inning. Groves drew a leadoff walk and Robison followed with another. Dudley drove Groves home with a double to left center, and Navarrete capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 2-0.
The signature moment came in the third. After McDonald grounded out and Kearns struck out to put the Bengals down to their last out of the inning, Brown launched a solo home run to left field. Groves followed with a home run down the left field line, and Moore completed the back-to-back-to-back sequence with a shot to right center to push the lead to 5-0. Rich called the sequence a defining moment of the game. "The back-to-back-to-back home runs all with two outs to push our lead to five early in the game was a big moment," he said. "We also turned a great double play late in the game to keep things going in our favor."
Tommasini and Aguinaga combined to hold Northern Colorado to three hits and no runs. Rich expressed confidence in the team's trajectory heading into the final stretch of the Big Sky schedule. "We keep finding ways to win series and that's a big deal," he said. "We've put ourselves in a good spot for these last two weeks of Big Sky play."
Brown, Groves, and Moore each homered and drove in a run. Dudley added a double and an RBI in the second inning. Kearns went 2-for-4. Navarrete drove in a run on the sacrifice fly.
NORTHERN COLORADO SERIES WRAP-UP
Idaho State takes the road series over Northern Colorado two games to one, outscoring the Bears 18-8 across three games with a .379 team batting average and a 2.03 staff ERA. The Bengals hit seven home runs in the series and received quality starts in all three games from Tommasini, Goluskin, and Aguinaga in turn.
Kearns and Brown led the Bengals all weekend against the Bears. Kearns finished the series, batting .556 with a home run, two RBI, and four runs scored. Brown batted .500 with two home runs and four RBI, and Robison drove in three runs across the three games while batting .429. Dudley led the series with four RBI despite a .250 average, with her home run and double in Game 1 coming in key spots. McDonald provided consistent contact at .417 across 12 at bats. The three-game totals included four doubles and three home runs, with the back-to-back-to-back in the series finale serving as the defining offensive moment of the trip.
On the mound, Tommasini was the story of Game 3, allowing just two hits across six shutout innings. Aguinaga was equally sharp across her appearances, posting a 2.63 ERA over 8 innings between Game 1 and Game 3 closings. Goluskin struck out ten in Game 2 and narrowly missed an impressive victory when a seventh-inning error opened the door for Northern Colorado's walk-off. The staff combined to hold Northern Colorado to a .263 opponent batting average for the series.
• Idaho State claims the Northern Colorado series two games to one, improving to 29-16 overall and 5-3 in Big Sky Conference play with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
• Brown, Groves, and Moore hit back-to-back-to-back home runs with two outs in the third inning of Game 3 to extend the Bengal lead from 2-0 to 5-0. It was the decisive swing of the series finale.
• Lizzy Tommasini earned the win with six shutout innings, allowing just two hits. She is now 6-2 on the season and has been one of the staff's most reliable options down the stretch.
• Kasey Aguinaga closed the final inning with three strikeouts, combining with Tommasini for Idaho State's seventh shutout of the season.
• Kennedy Dudley delivered the first two runs of Game 3 with an RBI double in the second inning, part of a two-run frame that set the table before the third-inning power surge.
• Jenna Kearns led the series with a .556 average, four runs scored, a home run, and two RBI across three games.
• Sydney Groves leads the team in home runs this season and extended her power streak with a solo shot in the third inning of Game 3.
• Marley Goluskin struck out ten in Game 2, her highest strikeout total of the season, in a near-complete game effort.
2026 BIG SKY CONFERENCE STATS UPDATE
Through nine Big Sky Conference games, Idaho State is 6-3 with a .372 team batting average and has outscored opponents 63-44. The Bengals are 4-2 at home and 2-1 on the road in conference play.
Yee has been the most productive Bengal in conference games, batting .531 with a 1.063 slugging percentage, four home runs, and 13 RBI across nine games. Moore is batting .407 in conference with two home runs and nine RBI. Robison has been one of the most impactful hitters in Big Sky play, batting .400 with two home runs and nine RBI, while McDonald sits at .400 as well. Dudley carries a .792 slugging percentage in conference with two home runs and nine RBI despite a .292 average.
In the circle, Aguinaga leads conference pitchers with a 1.54 ERA and a 4-0 record in five appearances. Tommasini has been equally sharp at 1-0 with a 1.40 ERA. The staff has combined to hold conference opponents to a .284 batting average across 57.2 innings.
On the full season, Idaho State enters the final stretch at 29-16 overall with a .320 team batting average, 279 runs scored against 192 allowed, and 60 home runs. Moore leads the team in average at .426. Yee leads in runs scored (40), hits (55), and doubles (15), while batting .390 with six home runs and 37 RBI. Groves leads the team in home runs with 13 and is tied with Brown for the RBI lead. Brown has 40 RBI and 11 home runs while batting .323. Kearns is batting .341 with four triples, four home runs, and 22 RBI. Day is slugging .776 in 35 games with nine home runs and 31 RBI.
Aguinaga leads the pitching staff in wins (12-4) and innings pitched (91.2) with a 2.75 ERA. Goluskin leads the staff in strikeouts with 66 across 77 innings at a 2.91 ERA. The team has posted seven shutouts and is 4-4 in one-run games. Idaho State is 14-4 at home and 7-7 away. The Bengals are 21-13 against right-handed starters on the season.
Idaho State returns home for a mid-week face off with the Boise State Broncos, Tuesday April 14 at 4:00 PM.
