Weber State University Athletics
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Photo by: Robert Casey
Wildcats, Bengals Split Wednesday Doubleheader
5/3/2023 9:29:00 PM | Softball
OGDEN, Utah – With conference seeding on the line in Ogden this week, the Weber State softball team split the opening two games of its series against the Idaho State Bengals on Wednesday afternoon.
WSU struck first in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and second with a full count, Katelyn Whiting got a base knock to the outfield which brought Gianna Memoli in from second base to open the scoring for the day. That 1-0 Wildcat lead stayed intact until the top of the sixth inning when Idaho State had two Bengals cross home plate to steal a 2-1 lead.
Trailing 2-1 with one out and nobody on, Wildcat legend Lauren Hoe took an 0-1 pitch and hit a towering fly ball deep that just barely cleared the fence. Her wall-scraping home run was her eighth of the year and tied the game up at two runs each. The seventh inning came and went with no runs, and the opening game of the day went to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth with the first two Bengals retired, ISU fixed its offensive woes and strung together a few base hits to bring home a third and decisive run. Idaho State closed out the game with a 3-2 victory.
Neither team could wait to get the scoring started in Wednesday's finale. The Bengals opened the scoring in the top of the first, but Faith Hoe was driven home by Emily Ruhl on a 2-2 pitch that Ruhl put on the outfield grass for an RBI single. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first.
ISU regained the lead on a second inning RBI double, but WSU immediately clapped back. Mia Rushton reached on a leadoff single and advanced to second base when Sarah Ruhl walked. Rushton was later driven home when Mika Chong got a one-out base knock to tie the game. Faith Hoe followed Chong up with another RBI single and the Wildcats were passing the baton. Lauren Hoe stepped in after her twin sister and singled to bring Chong home. McKell McCuistion singled to load the bases full of Wildcats and Emily Ruhl sent a high fly ball to the outfield which was deep enough to score Faith Hoe from third which rounded out the Wildcat scoring for the day.
Idaho State scored two in the top of the fifth, but the Bengals weren't able to tie the game up, and Weber State evened up the series with a 5-4 dub over the Bengals.
NOTABLES
-Lauren Hoe went 3-3 in the first game of the series and was a triple short of the cycle.
-Lauren's home run in the first game was the 30th of her historic career. She's just the second player in WSU history to reach that mark.
-Weber State lost the series opener and won the second game of every series in conference action this season.
-The Wildcats are still playing for conference seeding. With a win in Thursday's game against the Bengals, WSU would clinch the four seed in next week's Big Sky Conference tournament.
-Regardless of the outcome of Thursday's game, Weber State will be playing Portland State in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference tournament.
UP NEXT
Weber State plays its regular season finale in the rubber match of its series against Idaho State on Thursday, May 4. First pitch is at noon and that game can be seen on ESPN+
TICKETS
You can buy tickets to all Weber State home games and the Big Sky Conference tournament by going to www.weberstatetickets.com or by calling the ticket office at 801-626-8500.
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.
WSU struck first in the bottom of the third inning. With runners on first and second with a full count, Katelyn Whiting got a base knock to the outfield which brought Gianna Memoli in from second base to open the scoring for the day. That 1-0 Wildcat lead stayed intact until the top of the sixth inning when Idaho State had two Bengals cross home plate to steal a 2-1 lead.
Trailing 2-1 with one out and nobody on, Wildcat legend Lauren Hoe took an 0-1 pitch and hit a towering fly ball deep that just barely cleared the fence. Her wall-scraping home run was her eighth of the year and tied the game up at two runs each. The seventh inning came and went with no runs, and the opening game of the day went to extra innings.
In the top of the eighth with the first two Bengals retired, ISU fixed its offensive woes and strung together a few base hits to bring home a third and decisive run. Idaho State closed out the game with a 3-2 victory.
Neither team could wait to get the scoring started in Wednesday's finale. The Bengals opened the scoring in the top of the first, but Faith Hoe was driven home by Emily Ruhl on a 2-2 pitch that Ruhl put on the outfield grass for an RBI single. The score was tied at 1-1 after the first.
ISU regained the lead on a second inning RBI double, but WSU immediately clapped back. Mia Rushton reached on a leadoff single and advanced to second base when Sarah Ruhl walked. Rushton was later driven home when Mika Chong got a one-out base knock to tie the game. Faith Hoe followed Chong up with another RBI single and the Wildcats were passing the baton. Lauren Hoe stepped in after her twin sister and singled to bring Chong home. McKell McCuistion singled to load the bases full of Wildcats and Emily Ruhl sent a high fly ball to the outfield which was deep enough to score Faith Hoe from third which rounded out the Wildcat scoring for the day.
Idaho State scored two in the top of the fifth, but the Bengals weren't able to tie the game up, and Weber State evened up the series with a 5-4 dub over the Bengals.
NOTABLES
-Lauren Hoe went 3-3 in the first game of the series and was a triple short of the cycle.
-Lauren's home run in the first game was the 30th of her historic career. She's just the second player in WSU history to reach that mark.
-Weber State lost the series opener and won the second game of every series in conference action this season.
-The Wildcats are still playing for conference seeding. With a win in Thursday's game against the Bengals, WSU would clinch the four seed in next week's Big Sky Conference tournament.
-Regardless of the outcome of Thursday's game, Weber State will be playing Portland State in the opening round of the Big Sky Conference tournament.
UP NEXT
Weber State plays its regular season finale in the rubber match of its series against Idaho State on Thursday, May 4. First pitch is at noon and that game can be seen on ESPN+
TICKETS
You can buy tickets to all Weber State home games and the Big Sky Conference tournament by going to www.weberstatetickets.com or by calling the ticket office at 801-626-8500.
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: Jordan Schuring (0-0)
L: Finch, Jayci (0-0)
Batting:
2B: Alyssa Yee 1
RBI: Hess, Morgan 1 ; CANO, Angelica 1 ; Olivia Robison 1
SF: Ava Brown 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SETHMAN, Skylar 1 ; CANO, Angelica 1 ; Alyssa Yee 1
SB: CANO, Angelica 1
HBP: SETHMAN, Skylar 1 ; Ava Brown 1
Batting:
2B: Hoe, Lauren 1
HR: Hoe, Lauren 1
RBI: Whiting, Katelyn 1 ; Hoe, Lauren 1
SH: Ruhl, Emily 1 ; Ruhl, Sarah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hoe, Lauren 1 ; Memoli, Gianna 1
SB: Rushton, Mia 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Softball
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/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
IF
/ SoftballOF
/ SoftballOF
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NCAA Tournament post-game press conference
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Softball Big Sky Tournament Highlights
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Big Sky Tournament Softball Highlights
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