Weber State softball claims win at NCAA Regional, ousting 36-win Binghamton
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- Weber State’s Jordan McMahon slaps a double in an NCAA Regional against Binghamton on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State’s Olivia Birkinshaw, right, celebrates her three-run homer as Tori Rey (12), Abby Grundy (1) and Sadie Kirk (5) greet her at the plate in an NCAA Regional against Binghamton on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State’s Olivia Birkinshaw rounds third during a home run trot during an NCAA Regional against Binghamton on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State’s Jordan McMahon raises her arms after hitting a double against Binghamton in an NCAA Regional on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Eugene, Ore.
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- Weber State softball players huddle during an NCAA Regional against Binghamton on Saturday, May 17, 2025, in Eugene, Ore.
Weber State softball made history in 2019 and echoed it Saturday evening.
The Wildcats used a towering Olivia Birkinshaw three-run homer and a gritty five-inning pitching performance from Jayci Finch to defeat Binghamton 7-4 at the University of Oregon, repeating the feat as the only Big Sky Conference team to win a game at an NCAA Regional.
All but once since 2010 (Weber State in 2022), Big Sky teams have been seeded as the fourth team in four-team, opening-round regionals (as designated by who plays the regional host on the first day). So the victory over Binghamton, who entered the day 36-13, was a 4-over-3 win when it comes to regional seeding.
WSU advanced to a late-night rematch with No. 16 Oregon after the Ducks suffered a blowout loss to Stanford earlier Saturday.
Binghamton struck first against WSU starter Cali McCraw with a shallow Emma Lawson sacrifice fly to score Brianna Santos for a 1-0 lead through one inning.
Eva Richardson, who hit 2 for 4, singled to right in the top of the second, setting up slapping lefty freshman Jordan McMahon to line an RBI double to left field and tie the game 1-1.
Weber State (29-31) got things going in the third after Sadie Kirk’s one-out double, her second two-bagger of the game. Abby Grundy singled to right field, handing the bat to Big Sky tournament MVP Olivia Birkinshaw.
Birkinshaw swung through a couple pitches, worked a full count and then crushed a high fastball to left field for a three-run homer and a 4-1 WSU lead.
“Liv’s always a scary hitter so you’ve got to be careful with her, she’ll take good hacks,” WSU head coach Kristin Delahoussaye said in a mid-inning interview on ESPN. “She swung and missed on the first two but didn’t get phased, stayed a tough out and just got after it with a 3-2 count.”
McCraw gave up the one run on three hits in two innings and it was there that WSU gave the ball to senior and Clearfield native Jayci Finch.
“I think Binghamton has done a really good job of being prepped to see Cali so we wanted to mix it up a little bit and go to Jayci,” Delahoussaye said. “She’s definitely our fighter, she loves to compete, so we’re going to let her get after it for a couple innings.”
Finch retired Binghamton in order in the third before the fight began, and each of the final four innings felt a bit like a tightrope — but won the Wildcats walked without falling.
The biggest fight Finch won was in the fourth inning when she surrendered two singles and issued a walk to load the bases with one out. Binghamton senior Sarah Rende ripped several cuts foul before Richardson saved a run on a wide, 0-2 wild pitch that she pounced on at the backstop to keep the runners in place. Finch finished the nine-pitch battle getting Rende to swing over an offspeed pitch on the outside corner, and a flyout then left the bases loaded.
In the half-inning prior, Mariyah Delgado and Jordan McMahon stacked singles to get things started, resulting in Riley Whalen RBI single and McMahon scoring on a wild pitch to put WSU up 6-1.
Two singles, a groundout and Taegan Smith error led Binghamton to plate two in the fifth to cut it to 6-3. WSU got a small-ball run back in the sixth with a Whalen single, two groundouts and a Grundy single to make it 7-3.
Weber State loaded the bases in the seventh but Binghamton pitcher Olivia Kennedy got two fielder’s choice groundouts to escape. The Bearcats threatened again in the seventh with a Lawson RBI double but Finch ended the rally there, a groundout to Grundy at third to claim the win.
WSU outhit Binghamton 14-9. Whalen, Kirk, Grundy, Richardson and McMahon each had two hits. Finch finished allowing three unearned runs on six hits, striking out four and walking one over 102 pitches in five innings.
