FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Kennesaw State kicked off day one of the Colorado State Classic on Friday, Mar. 6 falling to Idaho State and knocking off host Colorado State at Ram Field.
GAME ONE
Idaho State used a big fifth inning to take game one from Kennesaw State with a 13-7 victory over the Owls early Friday morning.
Taylor Cates got the scoring started in the bottom of the second with an RBI double, giving the Owls a 1-0 advantage.
Idaho State (5-12) answered with an RBI double of its own in the top of the third tying the game 1-1.
The Bengals took a 3-1 lead on a two-run homer in the top of the fourth inning. Kristen Davis took over for Abby Deane in the fourth inning. Deane allowed three runs off four hits and walked two batters in three innings of work.
Jade Lee led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a triple, and then came around to score on a Bengal error, cutting the Idaho State lead to 3-2.
Idaho State added three runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend the lead to 6-2. Peyton Elzey would come in to pitch for Davis, who went just one inning, giving up four runs off of three hits, walking a batter and hitting two.
The Bengals continued to pour it on in the fifth with another two-run homer, extending the ISU lead to 8-2.
Idaho State was not finished, scoring two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, increasing the Bengal advantage to 10-2.
Katie Greep led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple, and would come around to score thanks to an RBI single by Kylie Vannavong. Vannavong scored later in the inning off another Bengal error, and Lee came through with an RBI single, cutting the Bengal lead in half to 10-5.
Idaho State added three more runs in the top of the seventh, giving the Bengals a 13-5 lead.
After back-to-back singles by Greep and Vannavong, Hannah Thomason would hit the Owls third triple of the game, tying the Owls' school record, but KSU fell 13-7 to Idaho State.
Deane was handed the loss, her first of the season. Elzey finished the game giving up six runs off of nine hits and striking out three batters in three innings of work.
GAME TWO
The Owls (18-4) defense held strong against Colorado State as KSU knocked off the Rams 3-1 on Friday afternoon.
After Hannah Thomason led off the game reaching on a CSU error and a single by Brea Dickey, Lexi Solorzano came through for the Owls with a two-run single in the top of the first. Jade Lee hit an RBI double and KSU had a quick 3-0 lead.
The Owl defense locked down Ram Field for the remainder of the game, not allowing a runner past second base for the first six innings.
CSU scored a run on a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn't enough as the Owls held on for the 3-1 win.
Melanie Bennett earned the win to improve to 4-2 on the season after tossing a complete game giving up one run on seven hits, walking two and striking out five.
NEXT UP
KSU will play two more games tomorrow at Ram Field, beginning with a showdown against Purdue at 11 AM and a second game against host Colorado State at 3:30 PM.
