Weber State softball using depth, ‘always us’ approach to 9-0 start in Big Sky
Weber State players Faith Hoe (10), Katelyn Whiting (00) and Ashlyn Visser (32) smile as they run to the dugout during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State's Mariah Ramirez watches her second-inning home run during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State's Chloe Camarero, bottom, slides into third for a triple as Northern Colorado's Maddee Bood-Smyth tries to apply the tag Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State shortstop Makayla Donahoo, left, takes a throw to second base as Northern Colorado's Paola Villegas (7) slides in on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State's Mariah Ramirez (18) high-fives head coach Mary Kay Amicone after homering during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State's Lauren Hoe hits a pitch during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State catcher Lauren Hoe watches a batted ball go by as she runs the bases against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State's Katelyn Whiting hauls in a fly ball during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
Weber State outfielder Mia Rushton watches her batted ball during a game against Northern Colorado on Saturday, April 17, 2021, at Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden.
OGDEN — In a somewhat typical game for Weber State softball Saturday, seven Wildcats recorded hits, six drove in runs and two pitchers combined for a near no-hitter.
Weber State finished the first half of the Big Sky Conference schedule with its third series sweep, defeating Northern Colorado 10-1 in five innings to improve to 19-12 overall and 9-0 in league play.
Freshman pitcher Amanda Sink needed only 48 pitches in a three-inning start, allowing no hits and one unearned run. Between Kate Donaldson’s two innings in the circle, junior Chloe Camarero crushed a two-RBI triple to left-center and Faith Hoe looped a triple to left to score Camarero, making it 10-1.
So Donaldson returned in the fifth with three outs needed for a win, and for a combined no-hitter. With one out, the Bears’ Mady Young scorched a grounder to freshman Emily Ruhl at third, who made a phenomenal diving stab but couldn’t get the throw to first in time.
It seemed none of the Wildcats were aware of the near-feat until they were told in the postgame huddle — to which many responded with a collective, “Aww, man!”
Southern Utah entered Saturday with a conference record of 5-1 ahead of a three-game series against Montana, but Weber State is the only Big Sky team with an overall record better than .500. In fact, no other team was within five games of being .500.
While it’s the continuation of program success — WSU is now 23-2 in conference games in the last two seasons — the Wildcats are a new team.
The program’s all-time hit queen, Takesha Saltern, and other seniors saw their careers end with the midway cancellation of the 2020 season. So whether it’s freshmen Ruhl and Mia Rushton (who lead the team in batting average); mainstays Camarero, the Hoe sisters and Ashlyn Visser; or newcomers Sink and Mariah Ramirez, contributions have come from everywhere.
“We have a saying: sometimes me, sometimes you, but always us,” Camarero said. “So it doesn’t matter who does it or when we do it, it’s just always us as a team, whether we lose or we win. We’re just very unified and we all uplift each other even when someone is down, we just get into each other and make sure we support each other.”
Camarero said the sting of last season’s abrupt end stays with them, so they practice or play games as if it’s their last.
Ramirez is a particularly bright spot for the new-look ‘Cats. The sophomore is 9-4 in the circle with a 3.15 ERA, a .266 average against and a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She picked up the win in Friday’s series opener, throwing five innings of two-run ball in a 10-2 win over Northern Colorado.
She’s also hitting .323 at the plate and, in Saturday’s series finale, hit a solo bomb to left field for a 2-1 lead in the second.
“She’s a competitor. Whether it’s in the circle or in the batter’s box, she’s ready to do whatever,” WSU head coach Mary Kay Amicone said. “We love what she does. Pitchers who rake, is what we say. She rakes.”
Amicone praised her team’s buy-in from top to bottom. That includes the pitching staff, where junior Donaldson is really the only returner. Ramirez leads the team in innings, while freshman Sink is coming on as conference play develops.
Freshmen Madison Peterson, Brooke Hatfield and Jackie Gold have a handful of combined innings, and help the team get better in practice, Amicone said.
“They’ve really taken hold of what they do best and how they can pitch as a staff. We need everybody to pitch and keep learning what their role is,” she said. “We’ve continued to grow what their abilities are and I’ve loved the way they’ve really bought into that process.”
Camarero has an angle on Big Sky player of the week after batting 6 for 10 with nine RBIs, a double, a triple and a homer in the three-game sweep of the Bears.
Camarero, Katelyn Whiting and Faith Hoe each drove in two runs in Saturday’s 10-1 win.
Next up is a nonconference bout with Utah (4 p.m. Tuesday in Ogden). Weber State closes conference play with three games at Southern Utah (April 23-24), hosting Portland State (April 30-May 1), and traveling to Montana (May 7-8).
They aren’t satisfied with a 9-0 start.
“We’re not even close to touching where we want to be. The outcome continues to be positive but we have so many ways we can develop that I’m excited for that,” Amicone said. “For us, it’s staying humble and staying hungry for the growth we need to do this season.”
After that, WSU hosts the conference tournament May 13-15 by virtue of the 2019 team’s regular-season title, won by players like Saltern, Landi Hawker and Courtney Pestka, who were at Wildcat Field on Saturday to watch the Wildcats.
“You look around and we see these seniors from last year who didn’t get their opportunity to play … they’re here, they’re home here, and they won the right to host the tournament. Every time we get to play at home, it’s a privilege,” Amicone said.
“This community, we love to have them support us and I appreciate that they’re coming out when the tickets are being sold and just adjusting. We absolutely take great pride in having the tournament here this year.”