Saturday, March 2
San Diego, Calif. (USD Softball Complex)
4:30 p.m. MT
Boise State
12-2
8
vs
0
Illinois - Chicago
3-10
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Boise State
0
1
6
1
0
8
7
0
Illinois-Chicago
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
Photo by: Boise State Photo Services
Broncos Sweep UIC, Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday
3/2/2019 11:19:00 PM | Softball
Boise State improves to 13-2 on the season for best 15-game start in program history
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The Boise State softball team continued their impressive start to the 2019 season with a pair of wins on Saturday at the San Diego Classic. A rain delay and unsuitable field conditions forced the postponement of their scheduled game against Long Beach State, but that did nothing to slow the Broncos down as they swept both UIC and Florida Gulf Coast on the day.
The wins were Boise State's 12th-straight – tying the program record for consecutive wins – and improves the team to 13-2 on the season, the best 15-game start in program history. The Broncos will close out the San Diego Classic tomorrow morning against Long Beach State, 11 a.m. MT, at the SDSU Softball Stadium.
"It's really fun to watch this come together and to see different people stepping up all the time," head coach Maggie Livreri said. "Gianna set the tone for us in game one and that allowed our hitters to stay really free."
UIC RECAP
Sophomore Gianna Mancha took a no-hitter through 4.2 inning before allowing a single in the bottom of the fifth, as Boise State easily took care of business against the Flames in the first game of the day. Despite the one blemish to her performance, Mancha was sizzling in the circle, throwing five shutout innings as the Broncos got the run-rule victory, 8-0.
Mancha struck out a season-high six batters in the win as she picked up her fifth win on the season.
The Broncos scored six runs – all unearned – in the top of the third to take the 7-0 lead. Jessica McKay and Alison Seng reached on errors to open the inning, and both got enough hitting behind them to reach home.
Kora Wade batted in two runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Ashlyn Adams (2-for-3) batted in a run of her own. Boise State got eight hits on the day, but took advantage of four UIC errors to win in five innings.
FGCU RECAP
Boise State stranded runners with the bases loaded twice against the Eagles, but got the hit they desperately needed when it mattered most.
Trailing Florida Gulf Coast 3-1 entering the top of the seventh, Boise State loaded the bases thanks to singles from Wade, Rebekah Cervantes and Seng. The Broncos out-hit Florida Gulf Coast, 11-8 in the game. Despite leaving nine runners on base in the game, their five runs with two-outs in the top of the seventh was just enough for the 6-3 victory.
With two outs in the inning, Adams ripped a triple into right field to empty the bases and give Boise State a one-run lead. The Broncos didn't stop there, getting RBI singles from both Karlee Johnson and Serena Huchingson to give Veronica Lynch a 6-3 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
"Ashlyn's triple is something she's fought for and earned with hard work everyday," Lirvreri said. "Roni did a great job of stepping in to get the win, and the defense behind her was fantastic."
Lynch picked up her first win of the season in 1.2 innings of relief, doing just enough to stifle Florida Gulf Coast's bats. The junior came on with one out in the top of the sixth, and despite loading the bases she escaped the jam with a pair of fielder's choice that went to home plate for the final two outs.
Needing to hold the Eagles to less than three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lynch would recover from allowing a leadoff single to hold the opposition scoreless in her relief appearance. With one out in the inning, Florida Gulf Coast grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Kelsey Broadus was effective in the start, striking out four batters in 5.1 innings of work. Adams led the Broncos at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and a run of her own.
The wins were Boise State's 12th-straight – tying the program record for consecutive wins – and improves the team to 13-2 on the season, the best 15-game start in program history. The Broncos will close out the San Diego Classic tomorrow morning against Long Beach State, 11 a.m. MT, at the SDSU Softball Stadium.
"It's really fun to watch this come together and to see different people stepping up all the time," head coach Maggie Livreri said. "Gianna set the tone for us in game one and that allowed our hitters to stay really free."
UIC RECAP
Sophomore Gianna Mancha took a no-hitter through 4.2 inning before allowing a single in the bottom of the fifth, as Boise State easily took care of business against the Flames in the first game of the day. Despite the one blemish to her performance, Mancha was sizzling in the circle, throwing five shutout innings as the Broncos got the run-rule victory, 8-0.
Mancha struck out a season-high six batters in the win as she picked up her fifth win on the season.
The Broncos scored six runs – all unearned – in the top of the third to take the 7-0 lead. Jessica McKay and Alison Seng reached on errors to open the inning, and both got enough hitting behind them to reach home.
Kora Wade batted in two runs while going 2-for-3 at the plate, while Ashlyn Adams (2-for-3) batted in a run of her own. Boise State got eight hits on the day, but took advantage of four UIC errors to win in five innings.
FGCU RECAP
Boise State stranded runners with the bases loaded twice against the Eagles, but got the hit they desperately needed when it mattered most.
Trailing Florida Gulf Coast 3-1 entering the top of the seventh, Boise State loaded the bases thanks to singles from Wade, Rebekah Cervantes and Seng. The Broncos out-hit Florida Gulf Coast, 11-8 in the game. Despite leaving nine runners on base in the game, their five runs with two-outs in the top of the seventh was just enough for the 6-3 victory.
With two outs in the inning, Adams ripped a triple into right field to empty the bases and give Boise State a one-run lead. The Broncos didn't stop there, getting RBI singles from both Karlee Johnson and Serena Huchingson to give Veronica Lynch a 6-3 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
"Ashlyn's triple is something she's fought for and earned with hard work everyday," Lirvreri said. "Roni did a great job of stepping in to get the win, and the defense behind her was fantastic."
Lynch picked up her first win of the season in 1.2 innings of relief, doing just enough to stifle Florida Gulf Coast's bats. The junior came on with one out in the top of the sixth, and despite loading the bases she escaped the jam with a pair of fielder's choice that went to home plate for the final two outs.
Needing to hold the Eagles to less than three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Lynch would recover from allowing a leadoff single to hold the opposition scoreless in her relief appearance. With one out in the inning, Florida Gulf Coast grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
Kelsey Broadus was effective in the start, striking out four batters in 5.1 innings of work. Adams led the Broncos at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs batted in and a run of her own.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mancha, Gianna (5-1)
L: FRAZIER, Karissa (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Cervantes, Rebekah 1
3B: Wade, Kora 1
RBI: Wade, Kora 2 ; Cervantes, Rebekah 1 ; Adams, Ashlyn 1 ; Johnson, Karlee 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wade, Kora 1 ; McKay, Jessica 1 ; Seng, Alison 1 ; Winckler, Abby 1 ; Fillmore, Bradie 1 ; Adams, Ashlyn 1 ; Molina, Justene 1 ; Lamb, Morgan 1
SB: Wade, Kora 1
CS: Adams, Ashlyn 1
HBP: Wade, Kora 1
Base Running:
SB: WEDL, Kayla 1 ; WETZEL, Emily 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF/OF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
P/INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
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