Weber State University Athletics
Friday, March 4
Fullerton, CA
1:00 PM MT
Weber State University
14-2
2
vs
1
Texas A&M
12-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas A&M
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
1
0
Weber State
1
0
0
0
1
0
X
2
3
1
Wildcat Softball Scores Historic Win Against A&M, Falls to Bruins
3/4/2022 9:38:00 PM | Softball
Weber State softball opened the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California by splitting results against a pair of power five teams. In the first game of the day, the Cats beat Texas A&M 2-1, and followed that game up by losing to #6 UCLA by a score of 9-1.
Things got off to a great start in the bottom of the first against the Aggies when WSU, the designated home team at the neutral site, scored a run to take a 1-0 lead. It was a double from the bat of Faith Hoe that brought home Mia Rushton to put the Wildcats on the board first.
Fast forwarding to the fifth inning, Gianna Memoli took a lead off base on balls, and was driven home on a Rushton single that gave WSU a 2-0 lead over the Aggies, but the rest of the game belonged to Arissa Henderson.
Henderson orchestrated one of the most dominating pitching performances in school history and was absolutely captivating in the circle for the Cats. A fifth-year pitcher who transferred from BYU, Henderson silenced the Aggie bats for the entire game.
Against a 12-2 team from the SEC, Henderson threw 130 pitches, sat seven Aggies down on strikes, got seven fly outs and seven more ground outs in what was a complete game one-hitter.
"Phenomenal game. She really had her best stuff going," Head Coach Mary Kay Amicone said of her star pitcher's incredible play. "Her composure was incredible. Super proud of her. Just really, really proud of her."
The Aggies did get a run in the sixth, but that was all the A&M offense could muster against the masterful Henderson.
Weber State came out with the 2-1 victory, its first-ever victory over a team from the SEC, and improved to 14-2 on the season. With the win, Henderson's record jumped to 4-0 on the year and the Wildcats extended their school-record winning streak to a dozen consecutive games, including two wins over teams from power five conferences and one of the most impressive and unlikely comebacks in Wildcat history.
In a pitchers' duel that had a combined four hits, Amicone also highlighted some clutch Wildcat at bats, stating that Rushton and Faith Hoe's RBI were the key offensive moments of the game.
Following the game against A&M, the Wildcats suited up to play sixth-ranked UCLA.
The Bruins came into the game with a 15-3 record and got off to a hot start on Friday night. After two innings, UCLAÂ leapt out to 5-0 and wouldn't look back. Although the Wildcats scored a run on a Bruin error in the sixth, UCLA scored a quartet of runs in their half of the inning to finalize the game at 9-1.
"We made too many mistakes in the UCLA game," Amicone said. "We were sitting at 5-1 against them and we still had a shot. We made mistakes on the bases and we made defensive mistakes that cost us. You can't make those kinds of mistakes against that kind of talent."
The loss ended Weber State's historic winning streak and put the Wildcats' record 14-3 for the season.
Weber State will be back in action on Saturday for the second day of the Judi Garman Classic and will be playing against Seattle at 4:00 PM MT, then a game with Penn at 9:00 PM MT.
Amicone, excited for her team to get back at it after a tough end to the day, said, "The competition in this tournament is top-notch. We're excited to play. We have a variety of teams that we haven't seen in a while, if at all. Being able to play Seattle and Penn, we are looking forward to getting back and playing."
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Things got off to a great start in the bottom of the first against the Aggies when WSU, the designated home team at the neutral site, scored a run to take a 1-0 lead. It was a double from the bat of Faith Hoe that brought home Mia Rushton to put the Wildcats on the board first.
Fast forwarding to the fifth inning, Gianna Memoli took a lead off base on balls, and was driven home on a Rushton single that gave WSU a 2-0 lead over the Aggies, but the rest of the game belonged to Arissa Henderson.
Henderson orchestrated one of the most dominating pitching performances in school history and was absolutely captivating in the circle for the Cats. A fifth-year pitcher who transferred from BYU, Henderson silenced the Aggie bats for the entire game.
Against a 12-2 team from the SEC, Henderson threw 130 pitches, sat seven Aggies down on strikes, got seven fly outs and seven more ground outs in what was a complete game one-hitter.
"Phenomenal game. She really had her best stuff going," Head Coach Mary Kay Amicone said of her star pitcher's incredible play. "Her composure was incredible. Super proud of her. Just really, really proud of her."
The Aggies did get a run in the sixth, but that was all the A&M offense could muster against the masterful Henderson.
Weber State came out with the 2-1 victory, its first-ever victory over a team from the SEC, and improved to 14-2 on the season. With the win, Henderson's record jumped to 4-0 on the year and the Wildcats extended their school-record winning streak to a dozen consecutive games, including two wins over teams from power five conferences and one of the most impressive and unlikely comebacks in Wildcat history.
In a pitchers' duel that had a combined four hits, Amicone also highlighted some clutch Wildcat at bats, stating that Rushton and Faith Hoe's RBI were the key offensive moments of the game.
Following the game against A&M, the Wildcats suited up to play sixth-ranked UCLA.
The Bruins came into the game with a 15-3 record and got off to a hot start on Friday night. After two innings, UCLAÂ leapt out to 5-0 and wouldn't look back. Although the Wildcats scored a run on a Bruin error in the sixth, UCLA scored a quartet of runs in their half of the inning to finalize the game at 9-1.
"We made too many mistakes in the UCLA game," Amicone said. "We were sitting at 5-1 against them and we still had a shot. We made mistakes on the bases and we made defensive mistakes that cost us. You can't make those kinds of mistakes against that kind of talent."
The loss ended Weber State's historic winning streak and put the Wildcats' record 14-3 for the season.
Weber State will be back in action on Saturday for the second day of the Judi Garman Classic and will be playing against Seattle at 4:00 PM MT, then a game with Penn at 9:00 PM MT.
Amicone, excited for her team to get back at it after a tough end to the day, said, "The competition in this tournament is top-notch. We're excited to play. We have a variety of teams that we haven't seen in a while, if at all. Being able to play Seattle and Penn, we are looking forward to getting back and playing."
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Henderson, Arissa (4-0)
L: Ackerman, Shaylee (2-1)
Batting:
RBI: Herzog, Makinzy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tippit, Alexis 1
SB: Wiggins, Rylen 1 ; Tippit, Alexis 1 ; Herzog, Makinzy 1 ; Dack, Katie 1
HBP: Cannon, Trinity 1
Batting:
2B: Hoe, Faith 1
RBI: Rushton, Mia 1 ; Hoe, Faith 1
SH: Donahoo, Makayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rushton, Mia 1 ; Memoli, Gianna 1
SB: Whiting, Katelyn 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1
HBP: McCuistion, McKell 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P/1B
/ Softball
OF
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