Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Portland State
Wildcat softball takes opening two from Vikings
3/28/2015 3:32:00 AM | Softball
OGDEN, Utah – After a mid-week bump in the road, the Wildcats wasted no time in getting back on track.
The Weber State University softball team swept a Big Sky Conference doubleheader from Portland State on Friday, dropping the Vikings 4-0 and 10-4 at Wildcat Softball Field.
The Purple and White improved to 5-0 in Big Sky play and 24-11 overall, establishing a new modern-era high water mark for wins in a season.
Junior shortstop Alyson Kulp went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and also reached on a walk and a plunk, while senior center fielder Malia Campos was 4-for-7 with two runs scored.
Senior right-hander MaCauley Flint earned the win in the opening game, allowing just three hits and issuing three walks against three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work before turning the ball over to freshman right-hander Kirtlyn Bohling for her third save of the year.
Junior right-hander Sierra Whitmer earned her fifth win of the year in the second game, going 4.1 innings before giving way to Bohling for the final 2.2.
"I loved the way we played today," Weber State coach Mary Kay Amicone said. "We bounced back after a subpar outing against BYU. Our pitching staff did a nice job today of attacking the zone and limiting hits. We continue to work hard and string together hits. Improvement is the key in all facets of the game."
In the opening game, Portland State (1-4 Big Sky, 7-24 overall) threatened in second with two runners on, with a sacrifice bunt moving both to scoring position, but Flint got a strikeout on the batter and snapped up a lineout to end the danger.
Senior catcher Mylee Brown led off the third with a single, before freshman second baseman McKinley Brinkerhoff laid down a perfect bunt, and a reached to put two on with no outs. A sacrifice bunt by Kulp moved Brinkerhoff and junior pinch runner Jazmine Thompson to second and third, respectively, before an RBI single to center field by Campos made it 1-0. Junior shortstop Aubrey Whitmer hit a sacrifice fly to left field that scored Brinkerhoff and made it 2-0 after three.
Kulp doubled to right center with one out in the fifth and Campos singled to shortstop before Aubrey Whitmer blasted an RBI double to left center that scored Kulp to make it 3-0, and freshman designated player Molly Horne hit a sacrifice fly to center field that scored Campos and made it 4-0.
Weber State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of game two, with junior first baseman Krystin Kubo hitting a two RBI single, followed by an RBI single to center field by sophomore right fielder Sara Hingsberger. Kulp scored again in the second, stealing home after Campos forced a throw to second, making it 4-0.
Portland State pulled two runs back in the third to make it 4-2, but after an RBI double to right center by sophomore left fielder Mackenzi Corta, the Wildcats turned a dropped infield fly ball into a pair of two-out runs when Corta scored and then Kulp hit an RBI single to left center to score Sierra Whitmer and make it 7-2.
Leading 7-3, Weber State loaded up the bases in the sixth, with Horne blasting a three RBI double down the left line to make it 10-3, giving the Wildcats two chances at a walk-off on run-rule, but a pair of fly outs closed it down.
The three-game series will conclude on Saturday at Noon at Wildcat Softball Field.
