Weber State University Athletics
Friday, April 22
Greeley, CO
1:00 PM
Weber State University
30-10, 9-1
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Northern Colorado
18-24, 6-4
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Weber State
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Northern Colo.
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Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats, Bears Split Doubleheader
4/22/2022 7:18:00 PM | Softball
GREELEY, Colo. – The Weber State Wildcat softball team split its doubleheader against the Northern Colorado Bears on Friday. The Bears took game one in a 7-4 comeback victory, and Weber State exacted its revenge in game two with a 18-5 demolition.
The Wildcats struck first in the top of the second inning in the first game of the double header. McKell McCuistion sent a lead-off solo-shot over the fence at Gloria Rodriguez Field to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. That was followed up by some savvy base running from WSU to score another run. With runners on the corners, Makayla Donahoo bolted for second base and Katelyn Whiting dashed for home on the catcher's throw to second. Weber State had a 2-0 lead after two innings.
After a few quiet innings for both teams, Northern Colorado came storming back with a six-run fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead. Mika Chong smacked a two-RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, but that would be all the Wildcats could do in game one. The Bears tacked on one more run for good measure in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-4 and that would be the final. This was the Wildcats' first loss in conference play this season.
The question on everyone's mind after game one: How will Weber State respond?
The answer: With a vengeance.
After Faith Hoe reached and advanced to second in the first at bat of the game, she was brought home on a Chong single to make it 1-0 and Weber State wouldn't look back from there. McCuistion's career day continued with a RBI double and the Cats had a 2-0 lead after one.
Things really got going in the top of the second. The Wildcats went to work with two outs as Mia Rushton singled to drive Lauren Hoe in from second base. The fun was just getting started.
On the next at bat, Faith Hoe came all the way around to score on a little league home run that also plated Rushton. With the bases empty and a 5-0 lead, Chong stepped in and singled again, then was driven home on a Chloe Camarero double. The next batter, McCuistion, hit a double off the wall to score Camarero and cap off the two-out and finish the inning with a 7-0 score. The Bears punched back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
The action continued in the third with more two-out scoring. With the bases loaded and two gone, Chong's clutch bat came to the dish and singled in a pair of runners. The following batter was Camarero who hit her team-leading third triple of the season to bring home another couple of runs and extend WSU's lead to 11-2. McCuistion came up and promptly popped the ball over the wall to make it 13-2. Northern Colorado hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third to top off their scoring in the game.
In addition to locking down her defensive duties in right field with some #SCTopTen-like defensive work, Whiting was getting the job done at the plate. She doubled in Lauren Hoe in the fourth inning to give Weber State a 14-5 edge over Northern Colorado.
Chong came up to lead off the fifth inning and hit a solo bomb, her third of the season, to make it 15-5. Camarero followed that up with a single, then McCuistion drove the runner in with a single. McCuistion's final numbers for what could be considered the best day of her career: 5-7, 2 HR, 2 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI. Emily Ruhl brought McCuistion to score with a single changing the score to 17-5. Senior Brooke Moeai pinch hit with runners on first and second and drove in her first run of the season when she sent a RBI-single into the outfield.
Weber State went on to win the game 18-5 and improve to 31-10 (9-1) on the year, Northern Colorado's record went to 18-25 (6-5).
NOTABLES
-18 runs is the most that WSU has scored this season, and the most since it scored 19 runs against Idaho State in the 2021 season.
-The win in the second game was WSU's fifth run-rule win of the year.
-Northern Colorado's win over Weber State in the first game was the Bears' first victory against WSU since 2018.
-Amanda Sink was the winning pitcher in the Wildcat win. Her final line: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO. Her record improves to 10-1 for the season.
QUOTABLES
"We lost the first game and we weren't too happy. We had a come together and said we needed to get back on track. We flushed the game, remembered what we needed to fix, then flushed it. We just started to play Wildcat softball again. We have a wide range of talents and we're super gritty. I'm really proud of the way we came back after that loss, our first of the season. We are a tough team and we pulled it out." – McKell McCuistion
"The team responded well, but it was a matter of their leadership. It's not about winning, it's about playing better. Basically, it's them punching back in the second game. We didn't play Weber State softball in the first game. Credit (Northern Colorado), they were ready to go. That was a good situation for us to bounce back from for sure. McKell was incredible. She was dialed in and did a good job. That's McKell. She can hit the ball hard." – Mary Kay Amicone
UP NEXT
Weber State will go for the series win against Northern Colorado on Saturday at 12:00. The game can be seen on ESPN+
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.
The Wildcats struck first in the top of the second inning in the first game of the double header. McKell McCuistion sent a lead-off solo-shot over the fence at Gloria Rodriguez Field to give the Cats a 1-0 lead. That was followed up by some savvy base running from WSU to score another run. With runners on the corners, Makayla Donahoo bolted for second base and Katelyn Whiting dashed for home on the catcher's throw to second. Weber State had a 2-0 lead after two innings.
After a few quiet innings for both teams, Northern Colorado came storming back with a six-run fifth inning to take a 6-2 lead. Mika Chong smacked a two-RBI single in the top of the sixth inning, but that would be all the Wildcats could do in game one. The Bears tacked on one more run for good measure in the bottom of the sixth to make it 7-4 and that would be the final. This was the Wildcats' first loss in conference play this season.
The question on everyone's mind after game one: How will Weber State respond?
The answer: With a vengeance.
After Faith Hoe reached and advanced to second in the first at bat of the game, she was brought home on a Chong single to make it 1-0 and Weber State wouldn't look back from there. McCuistion's career day continued with a RBI double and the Cats had a 2-0 lead after one.
Things really got going in the top of the second. The Wildcats went to work with two outs as Mia Rushton singled to drive Lauren Hoe in from second base. The fun was just getting started.
On the next at bat, Faith Hoe came all the way around to score on a little league home run that also plated Rushton. With the bases empty and a 5-0 lead, Chong stepped in and singled again, then was driven home on a Chloe Camarero double. The next batter, McCuistion, hit a double off the wall to score Camarero and cap off the two-out and finish the inning with a 7-0 score. The Bears punched back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning.
The action continued in the third with more two-out scoring. With the bases loaded and two gone, Chong's clutch bat came to the dish and singled in a pair of runners. The following batter was Camarero who hit her team-leading third triple of the season to bring home another couple of runs and extend WSU's lead to 11-2. McCuistion came up and promptly popped the ball over the wall to make it 13-2. Northern Colorado hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the third to top off their scoring in the game.
In addition to locking down her defensive duties in right field with some #SCTopTen-like defensive work, Whiting was getting the job done at the plate. She doubled in Lauren Hoe in the fourth inning to give Weber State a 14-5 edge over Northern Colorado.
Chong came up to lead off the fifth inning and hit a solo bomb, her third of the season, to make it 15-5. Camarero followed that up with a single, then McCuistion drove the runner in with a single. McCuistion's final numbers for what could be considered the best day of her career: 5-7, 2 HR, 2 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI. Emily Ruhl brought McCuistion to score with a single changing the score to 17-5. Senior Brooke Moeai pinch hit with runners on first and second and drove in her first run of the season when she sent a RBI-single into the outfield.
Weber State went on to win the game 18-5 and improve to 31-10 (9-1) on the year, Northern Colorado's record went to 18-25 (6-5).
NOTABLES
-18 runs is the most that WSU has scored this season, and the most since it scored 19 runs against Idaho State in the 2021 season.
-The win in the second game was WSU's fifth run-rule win of the year.
-Northern Colorado's win over Weber State in the first game was the Bears' first victory against WSU since 2018.
-Amanda Sink was the winning pitcher in the Wildcat win. Her final line: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO. Her record improves to 10-1 for the season.
QUOTABLES
"We lost the first game and we weren't too happy. We had a come together and said we needed to get back on track. We flushed the game, remembered what we needed to fix, then flushed it. We just started to play Wildcat softball again. We have a wide range of talents and we're super gritty. I'm really proud of the way we came back after that loss, our first of the season. We are a tough team and we pulled it out." – McKell McCuistion
"The team responded well, but it was a matter of their leadership. It's not about winning, it's about playing better. Basically, it's them punching back in the second game. We didn't play Weber State softball in the first game. Credit (Northern Colorado), they were ready to go. That was a good situation for us to bounce back from for sure. McKell was incredible. She was dialed in and did a good job. That's McKell. She can hit the ball hard." – Mary Kay Amicone
UP NEXT
Weber State will go for the series win against Northern Colorado on Saturday at 12:00. The game can be seen on ESPN+
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: GOLDEN, Meghan (12-8)
L: Ramirez, Mariah (9-8)
Batting:
HR: McCuistion, McKell 1
RBI: McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Chong, Mika 2
SH: Whiting, Katelyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Whiting, Katelyn 2 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1
SB: Camarero, Chloe 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1 ; Rushton, Mia 1
HBP: Camarero, Chloe 1
Batting:
2B: VILLEGAS, Paola 1 ; WENZEL, Alyssa 2
3B: STRATHEARN, Lauren 1
RBI: PLOGGER, RILEY 1 ; VILLEGAS, Paola 3 ; WENZEL, Alyssa 1 ; STRATHEARN, Lauren 1
SH: GANDERT, Jaycie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: PLOGGER, RILEY 1 ; MERCADO, Jayden 1 ; GALE, Peyton 1 ; FISCHER, Carson 1 ; WENZEL, Alyssa 2 ; STRATHEARN, Lauren 1
SB: GANDERT, Jaycie 1 ; WENZEL, Alyssa 1 ; STRATHEARN, Lauren 1
HBP: HOLLAND, Kaileigh 1 ; GALE, Peyton 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
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H
1
RBI
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AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballMI
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballBeyond the Bases: Episode 1
Thursday, September 11
NCAA Regionals Highlights
Tuesday, May 20
NCAA Tournament post-game press conference
Monday, May 19
Softball Big Sky Tournament Highlights
Wednesday, May 14