POCATELLO, Idaho – After 38 straight games away from home the Bengals (18-20, 0-3 BSC) are finally back in Pocatello taking on the Sacramento State Hornets (21-13, 2-1 BSC) in a Big Sky Conference clash.
The Bengals and Hornets play a doubleheader Friday, April 5 at 12:00 and 2:30 PM MT. The two teams then come back Saturday at 12:00 PM MT for a single game.
How to Follow
Friday and Saturday's games will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Live Stats will also be available for all three contests.
| Links | Watch | Live Stats |
| | ESPN+ | Live Stats |
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Series vs Hornets
· This is the 43rd meeting of the two programs and the Bengals have a history of being a thorn in the side of the Hornets. The Orange and Black lead the all-time series 29-13 and have taken seven out of the last 10 meetings.
· In 2023, the Bengals swept the Hornets in Sacramento to keep their championship hopes alive leading to a share of the Regular Season Championship for the Bengals.
· The Hornets will not be a pushover this weekend though, Sacramento State is an extremely strong team, sitting at 21-13 on the year and 2-1 in conference play after their series with Northern Colorado last week.
· Sac is hitting a league-high .294 on the year with 349 RBIs and 46 extra-base hits.
· Sac State's Lewa Day has been steadily taking over the Hornets all-time career record book. Day now holds the records for Most Runs, Most Home Runs, Most RBIs and their current highest SLG percentage at .705 on her career.
· Marissa Bertuccio continues to lead the Hornets pitching staff throwing a dominant 1.75 ERA with a 10-5 record on the season.
Bengal Bites
The Idaho State Bengals were selected as preseason No. 1 by the Big Sky Conference Coaches in 2024. The Bengals return the majority of the 2023 Regular season Big Sky champion squad headed into the 2024 season.
Tournament champion UNC was selected No.2 in the poll with the Bengals and Bears neck and neck in the points standings.
• Jenna Kearns got her first Collegiate hit against UCSD on 2/9/24, a one-run Homerun over the left field wall as the Bengals routed the Tritons 11-2.
• Ava brown hit a home run in each of the Bengals first three games of 2024. • Gracie Smith Opened the Season earning Big Sky Player of the Week. Smith hit .550 on 11-of-20 hits with 3 extra base hits including the first grand slam of the year.
• Taylor Fitzgerald was named Big Sky Pitcher of the Week after the Whataburger Invitational, Fitzgerald threw 13.1 innings with a 0.00 ERA, .049 Opp BA, 2 Hits Allowed, 10 Strikeouts and 0 Walks
• The Bengals got off to the Best Start in the DI era of the program, going 10-1 over the first 11 games.
• Taylor Fitzgerald earned her 4th win of the season, a 9-2 victory over Utah Valley University. Fitzgerald then battled Arizona State to extra innings before falling in the 8th.
• Gracie Smith hit the first walk-off home run of the 2024 season against Cal Poly on 3/1/24. Down 4-2 in the bottom of the seventh, the Bengals rallied to place two on with two outs before Smith hit the walk-off dinger.
• 4-4-24 • | The Bengals lead the Big Sky Conference in Hits with 292 on the season and a .417 slugging percentage
• The Bengals lead the conference in Home runs with 25 on the season. The next closest team is Northern Colorado with 16,
• Gracie Smith ranks No. 4 in the conference in offensive stats, hitting .403 on the season with 48 hits and 23 RBIS. Smith also has a conference-leading 29 runs scored
•The Bengals rank 54th in the nation in stolen bases per game with 1.53 per game.
• Gracie Smith ranks #27 in the NCAA in Hits this season with 48. Alyssa Yee is also top-100 sitting in 80th with 42
On Deck
Next week the Bengals hit the road once again heading north to Montana to take on the Lady Griz in Missoula. First pitch is scheduled for Friday, April 12 at 2:00 PM MT.