Weber State University Athletics
Saturday, April 30
Ogden
12:00 PM MT
Weber State University
35-10, 13-1
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Sacramento State
25-23, 9-6
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SAC
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Weber State
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Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats Win Big Sky Regular Season Title, Sweep Sacramento State
4/30/2022 5:46:00 PM | Softball
OGDEN, Utah – In what was one of the most special days in the history of Wildcat Softball Field, the Weber State Wildcats clinched a series sweep and the Big Sky Conference regular season championship with an 8-0 win over Sacramento State.
The historic day got started when the Wildcats loaded the bases in the bottom of the first and McKell McCuistion came up to bat. She sent a fly ball deep to the outfield that came just short of clearing the wall for a grand slam, but one runner was able to come home to get the scoring started.
The senior day scoring continued for Weber State when senior pitcher Arissa Henderson – who else? – sent a solo blast over the wall. It was her eighth home run of the year in just her 72nd at bat, and it gave the Cats a 2-0 lead heading into what proved to be a floodgate-opening fourth inning.
Lauren Hoe, the leadoff hitter in the fourth, starting things off with a triple. Katelyn Whiting singled home the runner to extend WSU's lead to 3-0. With the bases loaded, Faith Hoe reached on a fielder's choice that brought a run home. The Cats held a 4-0 advantage with runners on the corners and two outs. In the middle of the next at bat, Faith Hoe took off for second and got caught in a pickle. Makayla Donahoo, the runner on third, bolted for the plate and scored while Hoe was able to slide in safely at second. 5-0, Cats with the lead.
Back-to-back singles from Chloe Camarero and McCuistion drove in one runner each, and that topped off the scoring in a five-run fourth inning. Weber State held a 7-0 edge over the Hornets. The energy in Wildcat Softball Field was almost tangible as the near-capacity crowd knew that the Big Sky regular season championship drew closer and closer with every run.
The Hornets were unable to answer in the fifth, which brought the Cats to the plate with a chance to end the ball game and send their seniors, Camarero, Henderson, Brooke Moeai, and Abigail Sagert out the right way.
Donahoo reached first base on a fielder's choice. She was the lone base runner and the Hornets had already retired a pair of Wildcats. Mia Rushton put a ball in play but the Hornet defense couldn't handle it, so she was safe at first with Donahoo advancing to second base.
In steps Faith Hoe -who has been a leader and an absolute baller for the Wildcats this season- with a chance to end the game in five innings. First pitch: called strike. Next pitch: fouled into the backstop. The 0-2 pitch missed low for the first ball, followed by another foul ball that went off of Hoe's knee. The game paused for near two minutes as trainers and coaches came out to check on Faith but she shook it off and stepped back in the box.
The very next pitch was a flair over the infield and in front of the Hornet outfielder. Donahoo came darting around third base and sprinted towards home. The throw to the plate was offline and Donahoo slide across home to make it 8-0, and history was made.
Weber State won 8-0 in five innings to give the program another Big Sky Conference Championship. The Wildcats improve to 35-10 (13-1) and have secured the number one seed for the 2022 Big Sky Conference tournament, as well as the hosting rights to the 2023 conference tournament.
NOTABLES
-Henderson was the pitcher of record in game one. Her final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO. The win improves her record to 15-1 on the season.
-This is the sixth consecutive season that Weber State has won a Big Sky Championship. It's the ninth overall championship that the program has won.
-The win was Weber State's seventh win by run rule in the 2022 season. It was also WSU's third run-rule victory in its last five games.
-The Wildcats finish the 2022 regular season with a 10-1 home record. This is the fourth time the program has reached double-digit wins at home, and the first time doing so since 2017.
QUOTABLES
"It was certainly a special day. This group of young people have really made their mark in our program. We love them. There's no sweeter way than to send them off with a win and the championship of the regular season. It was just fantastic. Our focus is always on our improvement and getting better, and I feel like we did get better this weekend. Our pitching was phenomenal, our defense was pretty darn good and we had some really timely hits. Our goal is just for us to get better so that we can be at our best when the tournament comes. – Mary Kay Amicone
"I had faced her once and she's pretty firm. I think the most embarrassing thing is when someone gets hurt and then strikes out on the next pitch, so I was just thinking to not strike out. She gave me a good pitch and I was able to get a piece of it. I think that the last couple of years we have learned and our goal this year is to be the conference tournament champions. This is a plus and it was a goal, but the goal is to be the conference tournament champs. This team is ready and we're hungry for it." – Faith Hoe
UP NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road for one final series against the Portland State Vikings prior to returning home for the Big Sky Conference tournament. There will be a doubleheader on Friday, May 6 at 2:00 and 4:30 PM MT. The series finale will be played on Saturday, May 7 at 1:00 PM MT. Those games 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 historic day got started when the Wildcats loaded the bases in the bottom of the first and McKell McCuistion came up to bat. She sent a fly ball deep to the outfield that came just short of clearing the wall for a grand slam, but one runner was able to come home to get the scoring started.
The senior day scoring continued for Weber State when senior pitcher Arissa Henderson – who else? – sent a solo blast over the wall. It was her eighth home run of the year in just her 72nd at bat, and it gave the Cats a 2-0 lead heading into what proved to be a floodgate-opening fourth inning.
Lauren Hoe, the leadoff hitter in the fourth, starting things off with a triple. Katelyn Whiting singled home the runner to extend WSU's lead to 3-0. With the bases loaded, Faith Hoe reached on a fielder's choice that brought a run home. The Cats held a 4-0 advantage with runners on the corners and two outs. In the middle of the next at bat, Faith Hoe took off for second and got caught in a pickle. Makayla Donahoo, the runner on third, bolted for the plate and scored while Hoe was able to slide in safely at second. 5-0, Cats with the lead.
Back-to-back singles from Chloe Camarero and McCuistion drove in one runner each, and that topped off the scoring in a five-run fourth inning. Weber State held a 7-0 edge over the Hornets. The energy in Wildcat Softball Field was almost tangible as the near-capacity crowd knew that the Big Sky regular season championship drew closer and closer with every run.
The Hornets were unable to answer in the fifth, which brought the Cats to the plate with a chance to end the ball game and send their seniors, Camarero, Henderson, Brooke Moeai, and Abigail Sagert out the right way.
Donahoo reached first base on a fielder's choice. She was the lone base runner and the Hornets had already retired a pair of Wildcats. Mia Rushton put a ball in play but the Hornet defense couldn't handle it, so she was safe at first with Donahoo advancing to second base.
In steps Faith Hoe -who has been a leader and an absolute baller for the Wildcats this season- with a chance to end the game in five innings. First pitch: called strike. Next pitch: fouled into the backstop. The 0-2 pitch missed low for the first ball, followed by another foul ball that went off of Hoe's knee. The game paused for near two minutes as trainers and coaches came out to check on Faith but she shook it off and stepped back in the box.
The very next pitch was a flair over the infield and in front of the Hornet outfielder. Donahoo came darting around third base and sprinted towards home. The throw to the plate was offline and Donahoo slide across home to make it 8-0, and history was made.
Weber State won 8-0 in five innings to give the program another Big Sky Conference Championship. The Wildcats improve to 35-10 (13-1) and have secured the number one seed for the 2022 Big Sky Conference tournament, as well as the hosting rights to the 2023 conference tournament.
NOTABLES
-Henderson was the pitcher of record in game one. Her final line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO. The win improves her record to 15-1 on the season.
-This is the sixth consecutive season that Weber State has won a Big Sky Championship. It's the ninth overall championship that the program has won.
-The win was Weber State's seventh win by run rule in the 2022 season. It was also WSU's third run-rule victory in its last five games.
-The Wildcats finish the 2022 regular season with a 10-1 home record. This is the fourth time the program has reached double-digit wins at home, and the first time doing so since 2017.
QUOTABLES
"It was certainly a special day. This group of young people have really made their mark in our program. We love them. There's no sweeter way than to send them off with a win and the championship of the regular season. It was just fantastic. Our focus is always on our improvement and getting better, and I feel like we did get better this weekend. Our pitching was phenomenal, our defense was pretty darn good and we had some really timely hits. Our goal is just for us to get better so that we can be at our best when the tournament comes. – Mary Kay Amicone
"I had faced her once and she's pretty firm. I think the most embarrassing thing is when someone gets hurt and then strikes out on the next pitch, so I was just thinking to not strike out. She gave me a good pitch and I was able to get a piece of it. I think that the last couple of years we have learned and our goal this year is to be the conference tournament champions. This is a plus and it was a goal, but the goal is to be the conference tournament champs. This team is ready and we're hungry for it." – Faith Hoe
UP NEXT
The Wildcats hit the road for one final series against the Portland State Vikings prior to returning home for the Big Sky Conference tournament. There will be a doubleheader on Friday, May 6 at 2:00 and 4:30 PM MT. The series finale will be played on Saturday, May 7 at 1:00 PM MT. Those games 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: Henderson, Arissa (15-1)
L: Bertuccio, Marissa (17-9)
Batting:
3B: Hoe, Lauren 1
HR: Henderson, Arissa 1
RBI: Hoe, Faith 2 ; Henderson, Arissa 1 ; Camarero, Chloe 1 ; McCuistion, McKell 2 ; Whiting, Katelyn 1
SF: McCuistion, McKell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hoe, Faith 2 ; Henderson, Arissa 2 ; Cerda, Marissa 1 ; Whiting, Katelyn 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 2
SB: Hoe, Faith 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
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3
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H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
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1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
1
R
2
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
MI
/ SoftballP/1B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ 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