Bengals bounce back from rough start, but fall in extras

POCATELLO — A 30-minute delay to the start of Saturday’s game disrupted Idaho State starter Lizzy Tommasini’s pregame routine. The result was the right-hander’s worst pitching appearance of the season.

But the Bengals (32-17, 8-4) roared all the way back from a 6-0 first-inning deficit to tie things in the sixth. After forcing extra innings, however, ISU fell to the Sacramento State Hornets (27-17, 6-6) 8-7 in eight innings.

The Hornets took advantage of a less-than-sharp Tommasini and a swift breeze out to right field, riding a pair of homers out to right as part of a six-inning first. Head coach Andrew Rich pulled the plug on Tommasini’s start just seven batters into the game, handing the ball to Megan Meracle.

Meracle gave her squad a fighting chance, escaping the first, after allowing one more run to her own record, then holding Sacramento State scoreless from the second through the seventh.

The ISU offense, though, struggled to solve Sacramento State starter Kennedie Bacon.

Junior Jenna Kearns finally got the Bengals on the board in the third with an RBI single, making it 6-1.

Alyssa Yee put a charge into one in the fourth, and appeared to have a two-run homer to left-center, but Horner center fielder Saskia Raab went above the fence to rob Yee and the Bengals.

The play loomed large, but the impact of it multiplied when Kearns and senior Olivia Robinson each added RBIs in the fifth, trimming the Hornet lead to three, 6-3.

ISU broke free in the sixth, when Camryn McDonald dropped a two-out bunt single, advancing all the way to third on a throwing error. Ava Brown drove her in with an RBI triple into the right field corner, and Kearns followed a Sydney Groves walk with a two-run game-tying triple.

With the go-ahead run on third, Robinson went down on strikes to end the frame.

After a scoreless seventh, Sacramento State finally made headway against Meracle on RBI hits from Ava Medellin and Lafulafu Malepeai to take an 8-6 lead.

ISU answered right back with a Groves one-out RBI single. After Kearns drew a walk, the Bengals had the bases loaded — with the winning run at second — with still just one out, but Robinson and senior Jaden Moore went down on strikes to end the threat.

The Bengals head into the final week of the regular season tied with Montana (18-28, 8-4) for the top spot in the Big Sky Conference. ISU will meet the Grizzlies in Missoula, Mont. next weekend for a three-game set. The winner of that series will claim the top spot heading into the Big Sky Conference tournament.