After taking two barnburners Friday, Weber State softball got caught in a windy, high-scoring battle Saturday afternoon at Idaho State and used the long ball to claim a sweep of the Bengals in Pocatello.

Weber State improves to 25-8 on the season, matching its win total from 2021, and is 3-0 early in the Big Sky schedule. WSU is tied for first with Northern Colorado, who swept Southern Utah last week and was off this week. Sacramento State and Montana are tied for third at 4-2.

WSU 17, ISU 11

Saturday’s marathon took 3 hours, 56 minutes and featured seven pitchers between the two teams. The best of those pitchers was Weber State’s Mariah Ramirez, who gave up three earned runs in 4 1/3 innings, striking out seven and walking two.

Ramirez also helped turn the tide at the plate. Idaho State led 9-4 through four innings before the Wildcats brought out the bats. Chloe Camarero hit a solo homer, Lauren Hoe a two-run homer, and Ramirez a two-run dinger of her own to tie it 9-9, all in the top of the fifth.

After Idaho State took back the lead 11-9, the Wildcats kept hammering. With the bases loaded in the top of the sixth, Makayla Donahoo and Mia Rushton hit consecutive two-run singles to put WSU up 13-11. Faith Hoe doubled in Rushton, then scored on a fielder’s choice by beating a throw to the plate for a 15-11 advantage.

McKell McCuiston capped the eight-run inning with a high-arcing, two-run blast to right field that caught the wind that was bursting upwards of 40 mph in the final hour of the game, making it 17-11.

Ramirez blanked the Bengals for the final two innings and WSU left Pocatello with a wild win.

WSU 4, ISU 2

Arissa Henderson pitched four scoreless innings for the win and WSU opened the series Friday afternoon with a victory.

Chloe Camarero broke a 0-0 deadlock with a two-out, two-run single in the fifth. She scored on a Lauren Hoe single to make it 3-0. In the sixth, Faith Hoe doubled in Mia Rushton for a 4-0 advantage.

Skylar Sethman hit a two-run homer for the Bengals against Mariah Ramirez in the sixth for the final tally. Ramirez gave up a leadoff single in the seventh but retired the side in order from there to seal the win.

WSU 5, ISU 4

In Friday’s second game, Angelica Cano doubled in a run and later scored, putting WSU starter Amanda Sink in a 2-0 hole after one inning.

But Mika Chong hit a two-run homer for WSU in the third to erase the deficit. Chloe Camarero put the Wildcats ahead with an RBI double in the sixth. Faith Hoe doubled in a run and Chong singled in one more for much-needed insurance in the top of the seventh, building a 5-2 lead.

Morgan Hess singled in two runs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh for ISU, making it 5-4 with the tying run on base, but Sink induced a flyout to end the game. She pitched all seven innings for the win.

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