POCATELLO, Idaho --
Katie Marsh's fifth-inning grand slam snapped a 2-2 tie, and the Hornets held on late to beat Idaho State, 6-5, in the second round of the Big Sky Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon at Miller Ranch Stadium.
Sacramento State (28-18 overall) improved to 2-0 at the four-day, double elimination event. That included a 7-5 win yesterday over Montana. The win moved the Hornets to Friday's semifinal round where they will take on top seed Northern Colorado at 10 a.m. PT. Sacramento State is the No. 3 seed.
The winner of tomorrow morning's game will advance to Saturday's Big Sky Tournament title game at 11 a.m. PT. The loser of Friday morning's game will play again that day at 3 p.m. PT. Sacramento State is seeking its third Big Sky championship game appearance (2022, 2018). The winner of the title game will receive the Big Sky's automatic berth to NCAA Regionals, a place the Hornets have not been since 2018.
Northern Colorado, which received a first round bye, advanced to the semis by virtue of beating Weber State this morning, 8-0, in five innings.
In today's game, Marsh's dramatic grand slam snapped a 2-2 tie, and gave the Hornets a 6-2 lead in the fifth inning. Singles from
Lewa Day and
Andrea Lira, followed by
Samantha Parish hit-by-pitch loaded the bases with one out. That set the stage for Marsh, who drove a 1-1 pitch over the right field wall for what proved to be the game-winning hit.
Idaho State made things interesting with three runs in the sixth to cut the deficit to 6-5, but reliever
Savannah Wahl shut the door in the seventh to record her second save in as many days.
The Hornets never trailed, scoring single runs in the second (Parish RBI-single) and third inning (
Alexis Parish RBI-single). The Bengals tied with a run in the fourth, before Marsh's heroics. The home run for Marsh was her first of the season.
Three Hornets combined for eight of the team's 11 hits. That included Lira who went 4-for-4 with two runs, a double and stolen base. The four hits tie the program single-game record, which has been set previously many times (including yesterday by
Gwen Ludwig). Marsh finished 2-for-4 with a run and four RBIs, and Day went 2-for-4 with two runs. Day, however, re-aggravated an injury that recently cost her five games of missed time.
Caroline Evans (6-5) earned the win, allowing two runs and five hits with six strikeouts in four innings. Wahl registered her fourth save of the season, allowing one walk with one strikeout in one inning. Wahl also earned the save in yesterday's 7-5 win over Montana.
