by Zachary Knecht
Featured Image: Photo by Weber State Athletics
The Weber State Wildcats concluded their regular season with a series against the Idaho State Bengals. WSU played a competitive three games against the now regular season champions, but ultimately squeaked out only one win against the ISU. With the close of this series, the bracket for the Big Sky Tournament is now set.
The Wildcats finish their conference season 6-9 and as the fifth-seed. Idaho State needed each of its wins to clinch the #1 seed in the Big Sky, sweating it out until its final game of the regular season.
Wednesday, May 3
Idaho State at Weber State 3-2
The first duel between the cat teams went to Idaho State in an extra-inning thriller. The matchup gave us a pitching showdown between Amanda Johnson and Jordan Schuring, with the Wildcats getting around the bases first. Katelyn Whiting supplied the first RBI in the bottom of the third inning with a single to right field which scored Gianna Memoli. The runs were quiet until late in the game, as the Bengals produced a two-run rally in the top of the sixth inning. Lauren Hoe would not let this go unanswered, though, smashing a solo home run to tie things at two in the bottom half of the sixth.
Jayci Finch kept Weber State alive going into the extra innings, but the Bengal lineup would get the better of her in the eighth, drawing across a decisive run in their late-inning push. WSU’s bats died out with the game on the line, dropping the first game of the back-and-forth series.
Johnson went six innings of two-run pitching, giving up four hits, no walks, and two strikeouts. Finch was credited with the loss, allowing one run on two hits.
Wednesday, May 3
Idaho State at Weber State 4-5
The Wildcats would get their revenge in the second game of the doubleheader. The teams traded runs in the first innings, with Idaho State taking a 2-1 advantage in the top half of the second. Then Weber State’s bats came alive. WSU let the hits rain on the Bengals’ pitching, with Mika Chong, Faith Hoe, and Lauren Hoe driving in RBI singles in the inning. Emily Ruhl capped off the rally with a sacrifice fly to give Weber State the 5-2 advantage. The early outburst gave the Wildcats all the insurance they needed to fend off Idaho State, as the Bengals scored two more runs in the game.
Brooke Hatfield was given the win, giving up one earned run – and one unearned – on two hits and two walks. Finch made another appearance, pitching two innings and allowing two runs and four hits. Madison Peterson had a fantastic outing without permitting anyone to cross home plate on one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts.
Thursday, May 4
Idaho State at Weber State 12-8
In the rubber match, the bats were very much alive for either side, but it was Idaho State that was too overwhelming for the Wildcats’ pitching. The teams traded runs again in the first, but the action picked up in the third inning. In the top half, the Bengals strung together a healthy offensive showing, bringing in four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Weber State responded in a big way, scoring five runs off of an Emily Ruhl two-RBI double and a Kortney Kemper three-run blast.
Idaho State wouldn’t stop their momentum, as they rallied for another four runs in the fourth inning. The Bengals poured on the runs, extending their lead to 12-6 after the sixth, the deficit nearly insurmountable for the Wildcats. Lauren Hoe flashed her power again in the sixth with a two-run homer run, but that was all she wrote for Weber State’s offense.
Each Wildcat pitcher had a go at the Bengals, and Idaho State did some damage to each of them. Hatfield was handed the loss and received the most hurt, giving up four runs – one unearned – on five hits, two walks, and a strikeout.
What’s to Come
The next destination for the Wildcats is the Big Sky Tournament. As the fifth seed, they will face #4 Portland State on Wildcat Softball Field to kick things off on Wednesday, May 10.
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