Weber State University Athletics
Friday, April 30
Ogden
2:00 p.m.
Weber State University
21-15, 11-2
0
vs
6
Portland State
11-22, 8-8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Portland State
0
0
1
0
4
0
1
6
11
0
Weber State
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
Lauren Hoe broke up a perfect game in the opener and hit a game-winning home run in the nightcap.
WSU Rallies to Split Doubleheader against Portland State
4/30/2021 7:40:00 PM | Softball
OGDEN – Weber State scored four runs over their last two innings of play on Friday to earn a 4-2 come-from-behind victory in game two of a doubleheader against Portland State to salvage a split on the opening day of a three-game Big Sky Conference series.
Vikings starter Olivia Grey continued a recent dominant run of pitching in the opener of the twinbill, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning and finishing with a one-hit complete game shutout in which she struck out seven Wildcats in a 6-0 win. It marked the second-straight week that Grey tossed a one-hitter, after she one-hit Sacramento State in a victory last week over the Hornets.
Lauren Hoe broke up the perfecto in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the frame with a line drive to left field. The Wildcats were unable to make the leadoff hit pay with a run, however, and the Vikings went on to complete the shutout victory.
Viking leadoff batter Marissa Bruno had a near perfect day for Portland State at the plate, going 7-for-8 over the doubleheader. She was 4-for-4 in the opener, and came up one base short of hitting for the cycle. After leading off the game with a triple, Bruno was stranded at third, but got redemption in the third, popping a solo home run to center to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Bruno made it 2-0 two innings later with an RBI single for her third hit of the day. Bruno would come up with another single later in the game, leaving her without the double needed to complete the cycle.
Two batters later, Paetynn Lopez doubled with the bases-loaded for a three RBI hit to break the game open at 5-0. The Vikings added another insurance run in the sixth for the last run of the game.
In game two, Portland State jumped ahead early, scoring a pair of unearned runs off of WSU starter Kate Donaldson. Donaldson would buckle down and pitch a great game for the Wildcats the rest of the way, keeping the team within striking distance as the game progressed.
In the fifth, Emily Ruhl led off with a single and Mia Rushton followed one batter later with an infield hit to put the tying run on base. Katelyn Whiting immediatelyy came through, following Rushton's hit with a two-run double to center field to tie the game and give the Wildcats some much-needed momentum.
One inning later, the Hoe sisters struck for Weber State. Faith Hoe drew a leadoff walk, and after Noelle Foster flied out, Lauren Hoe launched a 1-0 offering from PSU starter Katie Schroeder over the right center field wall for the eventual game-winning hit.
Donaldson shut the Vikings down in the top of the seventh to finish off the complete game win for Weber State. Olivia Dean led off the inning with a single for Portland State, but Donaldson induced a big double play grounder from Lopez for the first two outs, and Rachel Menlove popped out to end the game.
Donaldson scattered 10 hits over seven innings but went without a walk and struck out seven to earn the win for the Wildcats, improving to 8-5 on the season.
Portland State moved to 11-23 overall on the season and 8-9 in Big Sky play. Weber State moved to a league-leading 22-15 and 12-2 in Big Sky play. Second place Southern Utah dropped both games of a doubleheader to Northern Colorado to fall to 8-6 in league play. The Wildcats' win in the second game clinched at least a tie of the Big Sky Conference regular season title with four games left on the year. The Wildcats can clinch the overall title with one more win.
The two teams will meet up again on Saturday at Noon for the deciding game of the series at Wildcat Softball Field. The game will be the final regular season home game for a group of Wildcat seniors, who will be honored prior to the game.
Vikings starter Olivia Grey continued a recent dominant run of pitching in the opener of the twinbill, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning and finishing with a one-hit complete game shutout in which she struck out seven Wildcats in a 6-0 win. It marked the second-straight week that Grey tossed a one-hitter, after she one-hit Sacramento State in a victory last week over the Hornets.
Lauren Hoe broke up the perfecto in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the frame with a line drive to left field. The Wildcats were unable to make the leadoff hit pay with a run, however, and the Vikings went on to complete the shutout victory.
Viking leadoff batter Marissa Bruno had a near perfect day for Portland State at the plate, going 7-for-8 over the doubleheader. She was 4-for-4 in the opener, and came up one base short of hitting for the cycle. After leading off the game with a triple, Bruno was stranded at third, but got redemption in the third, popping a solo home run to center to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead. Bruno made it 2-0 two innings later with an RBI single for her third hit of the day. Bruno would come up with another single later in the game, leaving her without the double needed to complete the cycle.
Two batters later, Paetynn Lopez doubled with the bases-loaded for a three RBI hit to break the game open at 5-0. The Vikings added another insurance run in the sixth for the last run of the game.
In game two, Portland State jumped ahead early, scoring a pair of unearned runs off of WSU starter Kate Donaldson. Donaldson would buckle down and pitch a great game for the Wildcats the rest of the way, keeping the team within striking distance as the game progressed.
In the fifth, Emily Ruhl led off with a single and Mia Rushton followed one batter later with an infield hit to put the tying run on base. Katelyn Whiting immediatelyy came through, following Rushton's hit with a two-run double to center field to tie the game and give the Wildcats some much-needed momentum.
One inning later, the Hoe sisters struck for Weber State. Faith Hoe drew a leadoff walk, and after Noelle Foster flied out, Lauren Hoe launched a 1-0 offering from PSU starter Katie Schroeder over the right center field wall for the eventual game-winning hit.
Donaldson shut the Vikings down in the top of the seventh to finish off the complete game win for Weber State. Olivia Dean led off the inning with a single for Portland State, but Donaldson induced a big double play grounder from Lopez for the first two outs, and Rachel Menlove popped out to end the game.
Donaldson scattered 10 hits over seven innings but went without a walk and struck out seven to earn the win for the Wildcats, improving to 8-5 on the season.
Portland State moved to 11-23 overall on the season and 8-9 in Big Sky play. Weber State moved to a league-leading 22-15 and 12-2 in Big Sky play. Second place Southern Utah dropped both games of a doubleheader to Northern Colorado to fall to 8-6 in league play. The Wildcats' win in the second game clinched at least a tie of the Big Sky Conference regular season title with four games left on the year. The Wildcats can clinch the overall title with one more win.
The two teams will meet up again on Saturday at Noon for the deciding game of the series at Wildcat Softball Field. The game will be the final regular season home game for a group of Wildcat seniors, who will be honored prior to the game.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Olivia Grey (5-6)
L: Ramirez, Mariah (11-6)
Batting:
2B: Paetynn Lopez 1 ; Emily Johansen 1
3B: Marissa Bruno 1
HR: Marissa Bruno 1
RBI: Marissa Bruno 2 ; Paetynn Lopez 3 ; Rachel Menlove 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Marissa Bruno 2 ; Olivia Dean 2 ; Maddie Thompson 1 ; Alexa Cepeda 1
SB: Maddie Thompson 1
CS: Marissa Bruno 1
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
U
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