Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Abilene Christian
SATURDAY SWEEP: Wildcats take two in Texas
2/28/2016 6:23:00 AM | Softball
AUSTIN, Texas – The Wildcats' bats heated up in a big way.
Behind 22 combined hits, a total that included three home runs, the Weber State University softball team rolled to a two-game Saturday sweep during the second day of the Texas Invitational at McCombs Field.
The Purple and White rallied from a 1-0 deficit to top Abilene Christian 6-1 in an early evening game and then smacked out a season-high 13 hits in clobbering Illinois 10-5 in the nightcap.
The win over the Fighting Illini was just the second win over a Big Ten school in Weber State's history, adding to a 2014 win over Indiana.
Against Abilene Christian, Weber State fell behind 1-0 when the Texas-based Wildcats led off the second inning with a home run, but quickly tied things back up in the third when junior outfielder Sara Hingsberger hit a two-out RBI single to left field to make it 1-1.
Junior outfielder Carley White and senior third baseman Alyson Kulp each had RBI singles in the fourth to put Weber State in front 3-1, and senior first baseman Krystin Kubo blasted a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 5-1. Hingsberger hit a solo homer in the seventh and the Wildcats closed down Abilene with two strikeouts and a groundout.
Sophomore right-hander Kirtlyn Bohling had the complete-game win in the circle, scattering four hits with one walk and four strikeouts to improve to 5-2.
Against the Fighting Illini, the Wildcats struck quickly with senior shortstop Aubrey Whitmer's RBI double putting Weber State ahead 1-0 in the first.
Illinois tied it back up at 1-1 in the bottom half of the inning, but the Wildcats regained the lead on a sacrifice bunt RBI by junior catcher KyRae Kogianes in the second and would never trail again.
Kogianes hit a two-run blast down the left field line to make it 4-1 in the fourth, with the Wildcats adding a run on a wild pitch and Kulp's RBI single up the middle to make it 6-1.
Kogianes, who finished the game with RBIs in three of her four at-bats, had an RBI double in the fifth, and White had a two RBI single down the left field like to make it 9-3 after five.
Illinois scored two in the sixth, but Kulp had another RBI single in the seventh to make it 10-5, and the Wildcats quickly closed down the Illini in the bottom of the inning.
Junior right-hander Baylee Reeves picked up the win in relief, improving to 2-2 in the circle as she scattered three hits and allowed just one earned run in the final four innings.
The Wildcats moved to 9-6 overall with the sweep and are 2-2 through two days of the Texas Invitational. Weber State wraps up the tournament on Sunday morning against No. 24 Texas. The game will be televised live on The Longhorn Network (Dish 407/DirecTV 677/WatchESPN).
