Weber State University Athletics
Weber State University
Sacramento State (Senior Day)
Wildcats claim 14-inning win on Senior Day
5/1/2016 1:14:00 AM | Softball
OGDEN – The quest isn't quite complete, but the Wildcats took an awfully big step on Saturday afternoon.
In front of a packed grandstand, the Weber State University softball team won a marathon 4-3 decision over Sacramento State in 14 innings on senior shortstop Aubrey Whitmer's walkoff two-out RBI single.
Weber State improved to 14-3 in Big Sky Conference play, closing within one win of securing the Big Sky Conference regular season title and host rights for next month's postseason tournament. The Wildcats' 14 conference wins are a new school record, and the team improved to 33-15 overall with its fifth straight win.
Weber State's five seniors, Whitmer, third baseman Alyson Kulp, first baseman Krystin Kubo, outfielder Jazmine Thompson, and outfielder Rudi Barrios, were each honored prior to their final regular season home game.
"We showed a lot of character today," Weber State coach Mary Kay Amicone said. "It was certainly a hard-fought game with both teams playing some great softball. I loved the way we battled and both (sophomore RHPs Kirtlyn Bohling and Bailey Seek) pitched very well. We played terrific defense, and Aubrey did it both with the leather and the bat.
"It was a great weekend to honor our seniors. We will work hard this week to improve on a few things as we prepre for Montana."
Two-out offense was the name of the game all series long for the Wildcats, who scored 18 of their 23 runs in the three-game series with two outs, including all four during Saturday's victory.
Junior left fielder Mackenzi Corta hit her first career home run, a three RBI inside-the-park shot down the right line, that put Weber State in front 3-0 in the first inning.
The Hornets rallied to get back within 3-2 in the top of the second and eventually tied the game at 3-3 in the sixth as the game turned into a defensive duel.
Weber State led off the bottom of the 14th with back-to-back singles, with sophomore second baseman McKinley Brinkerhoff moving to third on a fielder's choice at second base, setting the stage for Whitmer's 2-2 single to right field that pushed Brinkerhoff across the plate and ended the game.
Saturday's game, which lasted three hours, 45 minutes, was the second-longest game in Weber State history, trailing only a 15-inning marathon between Weber State and Sacramento State that lasted 4:39, before the Wildcats won 6-4, on April 12, 2013.
Weber State will wrap up the regular season with a three-game series against Montana in Missoula, Mont., next weekend. The Grizzlies are 11-6 in Big Sky play (24-24 overall) and are one of the two remaining teams, aside from the Wildcats, still in contention for tournament hosting rights. Sacramento State (12-6 Big Sky, 23-20 overall) wraps up the regular season with Portland State in Sacramento, Calif.
