Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, April 16
Ogden
11:00 PM
Weber State University
29-8, 7-0
6
vs
5
Montana
17-19, 5-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Montana
0
0
0
1
1
0
3
5
10
2
Weber State
2
1
1
0
0
2
X
6
6
1
Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats Sweep Griz, Remain Undefeated in Big Sky Action
4/16/2022 6:11:00 PM | Softball
OGDEN, Utah – On a day when the eyes of the NCAA softball nation were on Ogden, Utah, the Weber State Wildcat softball team put on a show. In a doubleheader on Saturday, the Cats swept the Montana Grizzlies by scores of 6-5 and 10-5 to stay undefeated in Big Sky Conference action.
After the Griz went scoreless in the top of the first, Weber State took advantage and immediately got on the board. As the Wildcats took over the NCAA Softball Instagram account for the day on Saturday, so did they take over the scoreboard. WSU scored a runner on a wild pitch and another on a passed ball, and took a 2-0 lead after one.
In the bottom of the second frame after Mia Rushton walked and advanced to second base on a groundout, Arissa Henderson, the Wildcat starting pitcher, helped her own cause and drove Rushton home with a single.
The bottom of the third saw more scoring action for the Wildcats as Faith Hoe, who was tremendous on the day, singled to the outfield to bring home Katelyn Whiting and increase the Wildcat lead to 4-0.
A leadoff home run by Montana chipped into the WSU lead in the top of the fourth inning, but that's all the Griz could muster in their half of the frame. Montana would plate one more runner in the bottom of the fifth to change the score to 4-2 in favor of Weber State.
WSU scored a pair of crucial runs in the bottom of the sixth. Chloe Camarero came home on an error by the Griz, and Lauren Hoe came around to score on a laser to the outfield off of Whiting's bat. The score heading to the final frame: 6-2 for the Cats.
Turns out that the Wildcats needed all six of those runs to beat Montana. The Griz scored three runners in the top of the seventh in a late rally, but it wasn't enough to overcome the first-place Wildcats. Weber State won game one of the two-game series by a score of 6-5.
As the game started, it was the Griz who attacked first and took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Weber State responded immediately as Faith Hoe smacked her first dinger of the season off the scoreboard and tied the game at 1-1.
Montana retook the lead in the top of the second as a single Grizzly crossed the plate, but the Cats answered emphatically. Whiting scored on a wild pitch, Makayla Donahoo came home on a sacrifice fly, and Rushton crossed the plate on another Henderson hit. Weber State took a 4-2 lead into the third inning.
The scoreboard stayed dark until the bottom of the fourth inning when Emily Ruhl hit a bases loaded single that scored two runners and increased the WSU lead to 6-2.
The Griz rallied in the fifth as they scored a pair of runners and chipped away at the Weber State lead, but it wasn't enough.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rushton singled to score Whiting from third, Donahoo advanced to third base on the play. Rushton then bolted for second base, took the bag, and Donahoo came to the plate on the throw to second base. Weber State led 8-4, but they weren't done yet. With Rushton advancing to third base and Henderson at the plate, the senior superstar sent a shot over the Wildcat Softball Field wall to put an exclamation point on the scoring for the Wildcats.
Montana scored one more runner in the top of the seventh, but Weber State closed the game out with a 10-5 victory and a sweep of the Griz.
NOTABLES
"I'd been watching a lot of pitches early in the count today. I decided that I just wanted to free swing at the first pitch if it was hittable, so that's what I did. I saw it elevated and just took a swing on it and it went out. I wasn't sure if it was going to go out because it didn't feel like a home run off the bat, but I was pretty excited!" – Arissa Henderson
"It was a good day. We always love to beat Montana. We hit well, pitched well, today was good and we got two dubs, that's what matters. I have not hit one off the scoreboard before, that was the pitch to do it. I think I closed my eyes and swung at it. I kind of thought it went right up, then I saw it and figured I hit it pretty well. […] To get to 30 wins is awesome and to get there so fast is great, but we have some tough competition coming up. Some of the hardest Big Sky teams are coming up the next three weeks, but we are looking good, pitching well, and we are still getting better." – Faith Hoe
"It was a hard-fought series. Both teams really got after it and swung the bats well. The conditions are what they are, we live in Utah in the spring. I'm super proud of how we battled everything and it was great competition. Arissa is just a true competitor. She's tough as nails. She's a total animal and she did awesome, I'm super proud of her. Faith has got all of the tools and is really softball savvy. She is smart and made adjustments throughout the game. She sparked us today." – Mary Kay Amicone
UP NEXT
On Tuesday, April19 at 5:00 PM, Weber State will put its eight-game winning streak on the line as it hosts Utah in the season series rubber match. Utah won the series' first game 5-1, then the Wildcats responded with a 9-5 win the following day. Tickets to the in-state rivalry game can be purchased online or by calling Weber State's ticket office at 801-626-8500
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State softball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
After the Griz went scoreless in the top of the first, Weber State took advantage and immediately got on the board. As the Wildcats took over the NCAA Softball Instagram account for the day on Saturday, so did they take over the scoreboard. WSU scored a runner on a wild pitch and another on a passed ball, and took a 2-0 lead after one.
In the bottom of the second frame after Mia Rushton walked and advanced to second base on a groundout, Arissa Henderson, the Wildcat starting pitcher, helped her own cause and drove Rushton home with a single.
The bottom of the third saw more scoring action for the Wildcats as Faith Hoe, who was tremendous on the day, singled to the outfield to bring home Katelyn Whiting and increase the Wildcat lead to 4-0.
A leadoff home run by Montana chipped into the WSU lead in the top of the fourth inning, but that's all the Griz could muster in their half of the frame. Montana would plate one more runner in the bottom of the fifth to change the score to 4-2 in favor of Weber State.
WSU scored a pair of crucial runs in the bottom of the sixth. Chloe Camarero came home on an error by the Griz, and Lauren Hoe came around to score on a laser to the outfield off of Whiting's bat. The score heading to the final frame: 6-2 for the Cats.
Turns out that the Wildcats needed all six of those runs to beat Montana. The Griz scored three runners in the top of the seventh in a late rally, but it wasn't enough to overcome the first-place Wildcats. Weber State won game one of the two-game series by a score of 6-5.
As the game started, it was the Griz who attacked first and took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Weber State responded immediately as Faith Hoe smacked her first dinger of the season off the scoreboard and tied the game at 1-1.
Montana retook the lead in the top of the second as a single Grizzly crossed the plate, but the Cats answered emphatically. Whiting scored on a wild pitch, Makayla Donahoo came home on a sacrifice fly, and Rushton crossed the plate on another Henderson hit. Weber State took a 4-2 lead into the third inning.
The scoreboard stayed dark until the bottom of the fourth inning when Emily Ruhl hit a bases loaded single that scored two runners and increased the WSU lead to 6-2.
The Griz rallied in the fifth as they scored a pair of runners and chipped away at the Weber State lead, but it wasn't enough.
In the bottom of the fifth, Rushton singled to score Whiting from third, Donahoo advanced to third base on the play. Rushton then bolted for second base, took the bag, and Donahoo came to the plate on the throw to second base. Weber State led 8-4, but they weren't done yet. With Rushton advancing to third base and Henderson at the plate, the senior superstar sent a shot over the Wildcat Softball Field wall to put an exclamation point on the scoring for the Wildcats.
Montana scored one more runner in the top of the seventh, but Weber State closed the game out with a 10-5 victory and a sweep of the Griz.
NOTABLES
- Henderson's win in the first game on Saturday moves her personal record to 11-1 on the season. With 5.0 innings pitched in game one and 2.0 innings pitched in game two, her final line for the day read as follows: 7.0 IP, 6 H 3 ER, 1 BB, 8 SO.
- Mariah Ramirez came in and shut things down for WSU in the final two innings of game one and earned her second save of the season.
- Amanda Sink , the starter in the second game for Weber State, earned the win to move her record to 9-0 on the year. Her final line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO.
- This is the earliest the Wildcats (30-8, 8-0) have reached the 30-win plateau in program history.
- Faith Hoe put on a show for WSU's national audience and went 4-6 at the plate, scoring three runs, driving in three RBI, and putting a massive dent in the scoreboard at Wildcat Softball Field.
- Henderson was phenomenal at the plate as well, going 3-6, scoring three runs, driving in four RBI and a two-run blast.
- Rushton was fantastic on Saturday with a delightful diving catch in center field to go along with a 3-5 day at the dish. She scored three times and had one RBI.
"I'd been watching a lot of pitches early in the count today. I decided that I just wanted to free swing at the first pitch if it was hittable, so that's what I did. I saw it elevated and just took a swing on it and it went out. I wasn't sure if it was going to go out because it didn't feel like a home run off the bat, but I was pretty excited!" – Arissa Henderson
"It was a good day. We always love to beat Montana. We hit well, pitched well, today was good and we got two dubs, that's what matters. I have not hit one off the scoreboard before, that was the pitch to do it. I think I closed my eyes and swung at it. I kind of thought it went right up, then I saw it and figured I hit it pretty well. […] To get to 30 wins is awesome and to get there so fast is great, but we have some tough competition coming up. Some of the hardest Big Sky teams are coming up the next three weeks, but we are looking good, pitching well, and we are still getting better." – Faith Hoe
"It was a hard-fought series. Both teams really got after it and swung the bats well. The conditions are what they are, we live in Utah in the spring. I'm super proud of how we battled everything and it was great competition. Arissa is just a true competitor. She's tough as nails. She's a total animal and she did awesome, I'm super proud of her. Faith has got all of the tools and is really softball savvy. She is smart and made adjustments throughout the game. She sparked us today." – Mary Kay Amicone
UP NEXT
On Tuesday, April19 at 5:00 PM, Weber State will put its eight-game winning streak on the line as it hosts Utah in the season series rubber match. Utah won the series' first game 5-1, then the Wildcats responded with a 9-5 win the following day. Tickets to the in-state rivalry game can be purchased online or by calling Weber State's ticket office at 801-626-8500
SOCIAL MEDIA
Make sure to follow Weber State softball on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date with everything happening with the Wildcats.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Johnson, Amanda (9-0)
L: Brock, Allie (9-11)
Batting:
2B: Phelps, Julie 1
HR: Sellers, Cami 1 ; McGrath, Maygen 1
RBI: Sellers, Cami 2 ; McGrath, Maygen 2 ; Weisgram, Brooklyn 1
SF: McGrath, Maygen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Klucewich, Jaxie 1 ; Sellers, Cami 1 ; McGrath, Maygen 1 ; Phelps, Julie 1 ; Weisgram, Brooklyn 1
HBP: Weisgram, Brooklyn 1
Batting:
2B: McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1
HR: Hoe, Faith 1 ; Henderson, Arissa 1
RBI: Hoe, Faith 2 ; Henderson, Arissa 3 ; Ruhl, Emily 2 ; Rushton, Mia 1
SF: Hoe, Faith 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hoe, Faith 2 ; Henderson, Arissa 2 ; Whiting, Katelyn 2 ; Donahoo, Makayla 2 ; Rushton, Mia 2
SB: Donahoo, Makayla 1 ; Rushton, Mia 1
HBP: Henderson, Arissa 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
MI
/ SoftballP/1B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
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Softball Big Sky Tournament Highlights
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Big Sky Tournament Softball Highlights
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