Weber State University Athletics
Friday, February 17
Phoenix, AZ
11 AM
Weber State University
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DePaul
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Weber State
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DePaul
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Photo by: Robert Casey
New Career Highs Highlight WSU's First Day at Littlewood Classic
2/17/2023 3:39:00 PM | Softball
PHOENIX, Ariz. – Weber State Wildcat softball picked up its second win of the season as it split Friday's doubleheader against the DePaul Blue Demons and the Illinois State Redbirds.
It was a slow start in the first game between the Wildcats and the Blue Demons. It took several innings for both sides to get a feel for the rhythm of the game, but things started picking up in the bottom of the fourth inning when DePaul got on the board to take a 1-0 lead.
Weber State responded emphatically in the fifth.
A one-out walk from Mia Rushton gave WSU its first base runner, then Faith Hoe singled her over to second base. McKell McCuistion's big barrel pounded the ball into the gap for a two-RBI double to give Weber State a 2-1 lead, and the rally was just getting started.
Mika Chong brought McCuistion home to score on a single, then Lauren Hoe crushed a fatal blow beyond the wall at GCU Softball Stadium to give Weber State what proved to be an insurmountable 5-1 lead. With the bases empty, Katelyn Whiting walked and stole second base, followed by another base on balls by Makayla Donahoo. Both runners were moved over on a fielder's choice, and Whiting touched home following a wild pitch to cap off WSU's biggest offensive outburst of this young season.
Fast forwarding to the top of the sixth, Faith Hoe led the inning off with a 2-2 single, and advanced to second and then third following a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. Faith came home when Lauren Hoe smacked an RBI double – her career high-tying third hit of the ball game – to finish off Weber State's scoring for the day.
Amanda Johnson, the starter in Friday's opener, locked things down in the circle from there. DePaul finished the game with three runs on six hits, but Weber State (2-4) reigned victorious in its opener of the Littlewood Classic.
Weber State stayed at the field as they awaited the arrival of the Illinois State Redbirds for the second game of the doubleheader, and the Redbirds didn't waste any time getting on the board. ISU scored five runs in the bottom half of the first to give them a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Illinois State went on to win the game 9-0.
NOTABLES
-Johnson was the pitcher of record for the game against DePaul. Her final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 8 SO
-Lauren Hoe went 3-4 in the game against DePaul. This was the third time in her storied career that she has recorded a career high of three hits in a game.
-Lauren's home run against DePaul was the 25th of her career. She is now nine home runs short of tying the Weber State record for most home runs in a career.
-Rushton appeared in her 100th game as a Wildcat against DePaul.
UP NEXT
Weber State is back in action on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 PM against Oregon State, and then again at 6:30 PM against Grand Canyon. The game against GCU can be seen 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.
It was a slow start in the first game between the Wildcats and the Blue Demons. It took several innings for both sides to get a feel for the rhythm of the game, but things started picking up in the bottom of the fourth inning when DePaul got on the board to take a 1-0 lead.
Weber State responded emphatically in the fifth.
A one-out walk from Mia Rushton gave WSU its first base runner, then Faith Hoe singled her over to second base. McKell McCuistion's big barrel pounded the ball into the gap for a two-RBI double to give Weber State a 2-1 lead, and the rally was just getting started.
Mika Chong brought McCuistion home to score on a single, then Lauren Hoe crushed a fatal blow beyond the wall at GCU Softball Stadium to give Weber State what proved to be an insurmountable 5-1 lead. With the bases empty, Katelyn Whiting walked and stole second base, followed by another base on balls by Makayla Donahoo. Both runners were moved over on a fielder's choice, and Whiting touched home following a wild pitch to cap off WSU's biggest offensive outburst of this young season.
Fast forwarding to the top of the sixth, Faith Hoe led the inning off with a 2-2 single, and advanced to second and then third following a sacrifice bunt and a groundout. Faith came home when Lauren Hoe smacked an RBI double – her career high-tying third hit of the ball game – to finish off Weber State's scoring for the day.
Amanda Johnson, the starter in Friday's opener, locked things down in the circle from there. DePaul finished the game with three runs on six hits, but Weber State (2-4) reigned victorious in its opener of the Littlewood Classic.
Weber State stayed at the field as they awaited the arrival of the Illinois State Redbirds for the second game of the doubleheader, and the Redbirds didn't waste any time getting on the board. ISU scored five runs in the bottom half of the first to give them a lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Illinois State went on to win the game 9-0.
NOTABLES
-Johnson was the pitcher of record for the game against DePaul. Her final line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 8 SO
-Lauren Hoe went 3-4 in the game against DePaul. This was the third time in her storied career that she has recorded a career high of three hits in a game.
-Lauren's home run against DePaul was the 25th of her career. She is now nine home runs short of tying the Weber State record for most home runs in a career.
-Rushton appeared in her 100th game as a Wildcat against DePaul.
UP NEXT
Weber State is back in action on Saturday, February 18 at 1:30 PM against Oregon State, and then again at 6:30 PM against Grand Canyon. The game against GCU can be seen 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: Johnson, Amanda (2-2)
L: SMITH, Brenna (1-1)
Batting:
2B: McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Hoe, Lauren 1
HR: Hoe, Lauren 1
RBI: McCuistion, McKell 2 ; Chong, Mika 1 ; Hoe, Lauren 3
SH: McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Donahoo, Makayla 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hoe, Faith 2 ; McCuistion, McKell 1 ; Chong, Mika 1 ; Hoe, Lauren 1 ; Whiting, Katelyn 1 ; Rushton, Mia 1
SB: Whiting, Katelyn 2 ; Rey, Victoria 1
Batting:
2B: HOUGE, Alexis 1
HR: JOHNSON, Brooke 1 ; WOHLERS, Anna 1
RBI: JOHNSON, Brooke 1 ; WOHLERS, Anna 1 ; FRAZIER, Grace 1
SH: POOL, Riley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JOHNSON, Brooke 1 ; WOHLERS, Anna 1 ; HOUGE, Alexis 1
SB: MEYER, Tori 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
MI
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
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