Things started well enough for the Wildcats (14-42), who got back-to-back solo homers from Abby Grundy and Sadie Kirk to take a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

But WSU starter Cali McCraw couldn’t get out of the first inning after walking one and hitting three Northern Colorado (24-26). Raina Navarro took over the circle and surrendered a three-RBI double, and the Bears led 4-2 after one frame.

Navarro didn’t record an out in the second inning, compounding the problems and ending her quick outing with Katie Walling hitting a two-RBI double to make it 6-2.

Freshman Kendall Freidinger pitched the final three innings for Weber State, allowing five earned runs on five hits. NoCo got the runs it needed for a run-rule decision when Emma Harrington hit a grand slam off Freidinger in the fourth.

Kirk finished 2 for 3 and scored two runs for WSU. She scored again in the fourth inning on a Mariyah Delgado single.

The second day concluded with No. 1 Idaho State rolling into championship Thursday with a 15-7 win over No. 3 Sacramento State. The Bengals hit a tournament-record seven home runs in the victory.

Idaho State (36-18) will have Wednesday off while Northern Colorado, Sacramento State (32-19) and No. 4 Montana (21-31) play elimination games to determine who gets another crack at the regular-season champs.

Second-year head coach Kristin Delahoussaye, meanwhile, will eye improvements for 2027. After WSU rolled a third-place finish into a conference tournament title and a win in the NCAA Tournament in 2025, the 2026 Wildcats — largely with the same lineup except the pitching staff — struggled to a 4-11 Big Sky mark and only 14 wins overall.

Grundy, McCraw, Riley Whalen and Tori Rey are listed as WSU’s outgoing seniors.