Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
North Dakota
Wildcat softball edges out Hawks for series win
4/23/2016 7:52:00 PM | Softball
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Sophomore second baseman McKinley Brinkerhoff picked the perfect time for her first career home run.
With the Weber State University softball team trailing by two runs after three innings, Brinkerhoff – a 2015 First Team All-Big Sky Conference selection – smashed a three-run shot over the fence at left field, lifting the Wildcats to an eventual 5-4 victory over North Dakota in Big Sky Conference action at Apollo Sports Complex on Saturday morning.
The Wildcats improved to 11-3 in Big Sky play, 30-15 overall, and kept pace one-half game behind Sacramento State (12-3 Big Sky) after the Hornets defeated Idaho State 10-1 in Pocatello, Idaho, later Saturday afternoon.
Weber State and Sacramento State will face each other for a critical three-game Big Sky Conference series on Friday and Saturday at Wildcat Softball Field.
The win marks the second consecutive season that Weber State has won 30 games, and clinched a second consecutive postseason berth for the Wildcats.
Weber State got things rolling early, with senior third baseman Alyson Kulp leading off the game with a double, followed by a single from freshman center fielder JaeCie Wilson, and an RBI double from senior shortstop Aubrey Whitmer that scored Kulp and made it 1-0. Junior outfielder Sara Hingsberger followed that up with an RBI at-bat to make it 2-0.
North Dakota scored four runs in the third to take a 4-2 lead, but the Wildcats weren't done yet.
Junior left fielder Mackenzi Corta singled to lead off the fourth inning, and senior first baseman Krystin Kubo reached on an error by the Fighting Hawks' shortstop, putting runners in the corners and setting the stage for Brinkerhoff's big swing on a 1-0 count that put the Wildcats back up 5-4.
The Fighting Hawks threatened in the bottom of the seventh with two on and two outs, but a popup to Brinkerhoff ended the game.
