The Idaho State Bengals softball team will face the Sacramento State Hornets at Miller Ranch this weekend, with the series set to impact the standings in the Big Sky Conference. The announcement was made on April 16, as the Bengals return home after a mid-week win over Boise State.
This matchup is significant because Idaho State currently holds first place in the conference with a 6-3 record, while Sacramento State sits just one game behind at 5-4. The outcome of this series could determine who secures sole possession of first place heading into the final stretch of regular season play.
The three-game series begins Thursday, April 17, with doubleheader games scheduled for 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday game at noon. Saturday will also serve as senior day for Idaho State, honoring eight seniors after their final regular season home appearance.
Offensively, Ava Brown has led Idaho State throughout the season with a .323 batting average and team-highs in home runs (13) and RBI (40). Alyssa Yee has contributed significantly as well, leading in runs scored (40), hits (55), and batting .390. Sydney Groves joins Brown atop the home run leaderboard for ISU with 13 each through 45 games. As a team, Idaho State leads the Big Sky Conference in several categories including batting average (.320), slugging percentage (.561), home runs (60), RBI (258), runs scored (279), hits (368), on-base percentage (.399), and walks (139).
On defense and pitching, Kasey Aguinaga leads ISU’s staff with twelve wins and a 2.75 ERA across nearly ninety-two innings pitched. Marley Goluskin has added eight wins along with sixty-six strikeouts over seventy-seven innings.
Sacramento State enters this week’s contest holding an overall record of 26-15 and a conference mark of 5-4. Their offense is led by Lafulafu Malepeai who boasts a .409 average along with fifteen home runs and forty-one RBI.
Looking ahead to next week, Idaho State will close out its regular-season home schedule against Utah Valley before traveling to Missoula for its final conference series against Montana.