Weber State University Athletics
Thursday, March 9
Long Beach, CA
11 AM MT
Weber State University
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Boston
16-6
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7
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Boston
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Weber State
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Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats Pick Up Impressive Win, Split Opening Day of Louisville Slugger Invitational
3/9/2023 7:00:00 PM | Softball
Weber State softball started its tournament in southern California by splitting games on its opening day.Â
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The day started in Long Beach, California where the Wildcats were set to square off against the 16-5 Boston Terriers – one of the best mid-major teams in the nation.Â
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BU came out swinging in the top of the first inning and scored a run on two hits to take the lead, but Jayci Finch, Weber State's starter, and the Wildcat defense kept the Terriers off the board for the remainder of the game.
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Weber State's first hit came on a single from the red-hot Lauren Hoe in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Wildcats were unable to capitalize, and left Lauren stranded on base. The score remained 1-0 in favor of Boston.
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Faith Hoe reached on a base knock to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but once again the Wildcats couldn't find the firepower needed to bring her home.Â
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That all changed in the sixth inning, though.
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McKell McCuistion continued her incredible offensive streak by sending a single through the infield. Katelyn Whiting followed that up with a four-pitch walk to give the 'Cats runners on first and second. Mika Chong reached base on an error and all runners were safe. With the bases full of Wildcats, Lauren Hoe drove in the first run on a fielder's choice that tied the game up. The following batter, Emily Ruhl, brought Whiting to the plate on a ground out to give WSU a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Wildcats took that lead to the seventh needing three more outs to close out what would be an impressive win.Â
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Finch stepped in the circle and immediately got a ground out, a strikeout, and two batter later another groundout to short to complete the comeback and give Weber State a win over a team who is flirting with having a top 50 RPI.Â
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Weber State found itself in another situation where it was trying to rally against another one of the best mid-major teams in NCAA softball. The Cal State Fullerton Titans got out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the third inning, but the Wildcats struck back.
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In the top of the fourth, Chong poked a single through the infield for a base hit to start off the inning. Following a fly out, Emily Ruhl stepped in an sent a double to the gap to bring a runner home and get the Wildcats on the board. Following a wild pitch that moved the baserunner up to third base, freshman Victoria Rey singled through the Titan infield and tied the game up at 2-2.Â
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Fullerton scored one final run in the bottom of the fourth, however, and despite Weber State making one last rally in the seventh with runners on first and second, the Wildcats weren't able to score again, and the Titans closed out the 3-2 victory.
NOTABLES
-Finch was the pitcher of record in the game against Boston. She won her first game of the year moving her record to 1-0, and her final line was 7.0 IP, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO.
-With her RBI against Boston, Lauren Hoe drove in her 18th run which is tied for most in the Big Sky Conference.
-McCuistion got another hit in WSU's game against Boston. Her batting average is currently at .397 which leads the Big Sky.
-McCuistion also leads the Big Sky Conference with a .465 OBP and 25 hits.Â
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UP NEXT
The weather forecast in southern California doesn't look great, folks. As of this writing, Weber State is slated to continue the Louisville Slugger Invitational on Friday, March 10 at 3 PM MT against the San Diego State Aztecs. The tri-hosts of the tournament are monitoring the weather situation very closely and will announce games and cancelations accordingly.Â
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.
Â
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The day started in Long Beach, California where the Wildcats were set to square off against the 16-5 Boston Terriers – one of the best mid-major teams in the nation.Â
Â
BU came out swinging in the top of the first inning and scored a run on two hits to take the lead, but Jayci Finch, Weber State's starter, and the Wildcat defense kept the Terriers off the board for the remainder of the game.
Â
Weber State's first hit came on a single from the red-hot Lauren Hoe in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Wildcats were unable to capitalize, and left Lauren stranded on base. The score remained 1-0 in favor of Boston.
Â
Faith Hoe reached on a base knock to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but once again the Wildcats couldn't find the firepower needed to bring her home.Â
Â
That all changed in the sixth inning, though.
Â
McKell McCuistion continued her incredible offensive streak by sending a single through the infield. Katelyn Whiting followed that up with a four-pitch walk to give the 'Cats runners on first and second. Mika Chong reached base on an error and all runners were safe. With the bases full of Wildcats, Lauren Hoe drove in the first run on a fielder's choice that tied the game up. The following batter, Emily Ruhl, brought Whiting to the plate on a ground out to give WSU a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth. The Wildcats took that lead to the seventh needing three more outs to close out what would be an impressive win.Â
Â
Finch stepped in the circle and immediately got a ground out, a strikeout, and two batter later another groundout to short to complete the comeback and give Weber State a win over a team who is flirting with having a top 50 RPI.Â
Â
Weber State found itself in another situation where it was trying to rally against another one of the best mid-major teams in NCAA softball. The Cal State Fullerton Titans got out to a 2-0 lead by the end of the third inning, but the Wildcats struck back.
Â
In the top of the fourth, Chong poked a single through the infield for a base hit to start off the inning. Following a fly out, Emily Ruhl stepped in an sent a double to the gap to bring a runner home and get the Wildcats on the board. Following a wild pitch that moved the baserunner up to third base, freshman Victoria Rey singled through the Titan infield and tied the game up at 2-2.Â
Â
Fullerton scored one final run in the bottom of the fourth, however, and despite Weber State making one last rally in the seventh with runners on first and second, the Wildcats weren't able to score again, and the Titans closed out the 3-2 victory.
NOTABLES
-Finch was the pitcher of record in the game against Boston. She won her first game of the year moving her record to 1-0, and her final line was 7.0 IP, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 SO.
-With her RBI against Boston, Lauren Hoe drove in her 18th run which is tied for most in the Big Sky Conference.
-McCuistion got another hit in WSU's game against Boston. Her batting average is currently at .397 which leads the Big Sky.
-McCuistion also leads the Big Sky Conference with a .465 OBP and 25 hits.Â
Â
Â
UP NEXT
The weather forecast in southern California doesn't look great, folks. As of this writing, Weber State is slated to continue the Louisville Slugger Invitational on Friday, March 10 at 3 PM MT against the San Diego State Aztecs. The tri-hosts of the tournament are monitoring the weather situation very closely and will announce games and cancelations accordingly.Â
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.
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Finch, Jayci (1-0)
L: Boaz, Allison (9-3)
Batting:
2B: Roncin, Kayla 1 ; Gant, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Coker, Caitlin 1
SB: Coker, Caitlin 1
Batting:
RBI: Hoe, Lauren 1 ; Ruhl, Emily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whalen, Riley 1 ; Whiting, Katelyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
0
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
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