GAME NOTES: Wildcats, Bengals Square Off With Tournament Seeding on the Line

Weber State Softball returns home for its final home stand of the 2023 season, and will face the Idaho State Bengals with seeding for the Big Sky Conference tournament on the line.

SCHEDULE CHANGES | This series was originally scheduled for March 31-April 1, but due to inclement weather things got pushed back to this week.

Wednesday, May 3 – Idaho State – 2 PM
(TV: ESPN+)
(Live stats: weberstatesports.com)

Wednesday, May 3 – Idaho State – 4 PM
(TV: ESPN+)
(Live stats: weberstatesports.com)

Thursday, May 4 – Idaho State – 12 PM
(TV: ESPN+)
(Live stats: weberstatesports.com)

PROMOTIONS

Wednesday – Purple out. We will be giving out free purple t-shirts to the first 100 fans in attendance.

KNOW THE FOE

Idaho State (16-24, 8-4)

-Idaho State is playing for some hardware in this series. If the Bengals sweep WSU, they'll win the conference outright. If they take two of three games, they'll clinch a share of the conference championship and the first seed in next week's Big Sky tournament.
-Last weekend ISU became the first Big Sky school to win a series against Sacramento State as the Bengals swept the Hornets in Sacramento.
-As a team, the Bengals have the most hits in the Big Sky and collectively have a .281 batting average.
-ISU also boasts the most home runs in the conference with 33.

TOURNAMENT SEEDING

Idaho State isn't the only team with seeding on the line in this week's series. If the Wildcats sweep the Bengals, Weber State will finish with the third seed in next week's conference tournament. If WSU wins two games this week, the 'Cats will have the four seed, and if they win one or less games this week, WSU will finish in the fifth seed.

SERIES WINNER

Weber State won its first series of the season last weekend against the Montana Grizzlies. On a beautiful Saturday in Missoula, the Wildcats spoiled UM's senior day and won a 5-2 game in front of over 800 people – the second largest crowd in Montana softball history.

RECORD BREAKER

Mika Chong's three-home run game against Portland State set a new WSU record for most home runs in one game. She's the first Big Sky player to accomplish that since 2021, and only the third player in conference history to hit three home runs in the same game.

SISTER ACT

Weber State - a program that stresses the importance of family - practices what it preaches. The Wildcats feature a pair of sisters on their roster with Faith Hoe and Lauren Hoe, as well as Emily Ruhl and Sarah Ruhl. There are only six other teams in the nation that have a pair of twins on their roster (Arizona State, Colorado State, Northwestern State, Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, UT Martin, Utah State), and only one other team (Arizona State) that has a set of twins in addition to another set of sisters.

In a game against Utah earlier this month, Faith and Lauren Hoe each hit a home run in the same game for just the second time in their careers. In 2021, the twins each had a home run in the same inning against Northern Colorado.

CENTURY MARK

McKell McCuistion's RBI double against Utah earlier this month was the 100^th career hit for the all-conference first baseman.

CHASING HISTORY

Lauren Hoe home run against Baylor moved her into sole possession of second place for most career home runs in Weber State history. With her most recent home run against Utah, she now has 28 home runs and is six behind the all-time record set Sarah Hingsberger.

ANY TIME, ANY PLACE

The Wildcats are facing what is certainly the toughest schedule in program history. WSU will be playing 15 games against teams that qualified for the 2022 NCAA tournament and is slated to play ten teams who were ranked in the initial top 25 rankings of the 2023 season. The Wildcats currently have the strongest schedule of any mid-major in the nation.

GAME NOTES: Wildcats, Bengals Square Off With Tournament Seeding on the Line

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Players Mentioned

Mika Chong

Faith Hoe

Lauren Hoe

McKell McCuistion

Emily Ruhl

Sarah Ruhl

Weber State University Athletics