Friday, February 14
Tempe, Ariz.
11:30 a.m. MT

Boise State

4-2

8
vs
12

Illinois State

2-4

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2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Boise State
0
2
0
4
1
0
1
8
7
1
Illinois State
2
3
1
2
1
3
X
12
13
3
Karlee Johnson
Photo by: Boise State University

Boise State Upset Bid of No. 10 Kentucky Comes Up Short, Broncos Drop Two in Arizona

2/14/2020 8:09:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1Box Score 2Final Box Vs. ISU (pdf) Final Box Vs. UK (pdf)

Broncos set school record with two grand slams in the same inning versus Wildcats.

By: Courtesy: Boise State Athletics

TEMPE, Ariz.  - Boise State nearly pulled off the impossible Friday afternoon when the Broncos rallied from seven down to give 10th-ranked Kentucky a scare. The Broncos used a nine-run sixth inning to come from 11-4 down to take a 13-11 lead, only to fall 16-14 when the Wildcats rallied for the win with five runs in their half of the sixth. 

However, Boise State made program history against Kentucky not only recording two grand slams in a game, but two in one inning, neither had ever been done before. Both Jessica McKay and Karlee Johnson cleared the bases during the Broncos' nine-run sixth inning to give Boise State a brief lead. There had only been 17 grand slams in program history entering the season, Boise State has three in the first seven games of 2020, Serena Huchingson had one in the win over UCSB last week. Unfortunately, the two grand slams versus Kentucky were not enough the get the Broncos a top-25 victory over the Wildcats. 
The loss to Kentucky combined with a 12-8 defeat earlier in the day to Illinois State moved Boise State to 4-3 overall. The Broncos will look to snap a three-game losing streak Saturday on the second day of the Littlewood Classic in Tempe, Ariz., when they face Illinois State for a second time at 9 a.m. (Mountain) followed by an encounter with Detroit Mercy at 11:30 a.m. (MT). 

Johnson and Bradie Fillmore led Boise State on the day with four hits each, Johnson had six RBIs while Fillmore had a team-best two doubles. Kelsey Lalor hit a team-high .600 for three hits and four RBIs, Johnson hit .500, followed by Fillmore at .444. McKay batted .333 for three hits and five RBIs.
 

ILLINOIS STATE RECAP

Boise State struggled against Illinois State's hitting Friday has the Redbirds handed the Broncos a 12-8  defeat to open the Littlewood Classic. The two teams combined for 20 hits in the contest with Illinois State tallying 13 to Boise State's seven. 
The Broncos found themselves in a hole early as the Redbirds scored two runs in the bottom of the first, then built their lead to 6-2 heading into the fourth. Lalor had briefly tie it up at 2-2 in the top of the second when she sent her second home run of the year over the center field wall scoring herself and Alison Seng. 

Down four, the Blue and Orange came back with four runs in the top of the fourth inning to tie the score at 6-6. Huchingson opened the scoring when she stole home with Autumn Bennett at bat. Bennett and Lalor score shortly after on a fielding error by ISU's second baseman. The fourth score came when McKay knocked home Ashlyn Adams with a single to center.

Illinois State rallied with six more runs in the final three innings, while the Broncos were held to a pair of  Huchingson runs, one in the fifth with the other in the seventh. 

TOP BRONCOS VS. REDBIRDS
  • Huchingson finished the game with three runs scored, one hit and team-high six putouts. 
  • Lalor had the lone Boise State home run of the game and finished with two hits, three RBIs and two runs scored. 
 

KENTUCKY RECAP

Boise State fell to 10th-ranked Kentucky in a high scoring affair after rallying from 11-4 down heading into the sixth to take a 13-11 lead, only to see the Wildcats rally for a 16-14 victory. 
Trailing 11-4 heading into the top half of the sixth, Boise State exploded for nine runs powered by two grand slam home runs. The first came from McKay when she sent the ball sailing over the left-center fence scoring Adams, Bennett and Johnson. Then with bases loaded and two out, Bella Rocco was walked bringing home Fillmore. With the bases still loaded, Johnson stepped to the plate for the second time in the inning where she proceeded to send her first homer of the year and first career grand slam over the left field wall scoring Emily Alandt, Seng and Lalor for a 13-11 advantage heading into the bottom of six. 
Kentucky regrouped and struck for five runs of their own in the sixth to retake the lead at 16-13. Unfortunately, Boise State's attempt to rally a second time came up short. The Broncos could only managed to get one base runner across the plate in the seventh when Lalor singled to score Adams making the final score, UK 16-14. 

TOP BRONCOS VS. WILDCATS
  • Five Broncos had a multiple-hit game against the Wildcats led by Johnson and Fillmore with three each, Johnson had a team-high five RBIs and scored three runs. 
  • Adams, McKay and Bennett each tallied two hits. 
  • McKay, Johnson and Bennett all had home runs during the game. 
 

 

 

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Next Event

Illinois State
W, 4-0

Feb 15 (Sat)

9:00 a.m. MT
Box ScoreRecapFinal Box (pdf)PreviewLive Stats History
Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Leonard, M. (1-2)

L: Bailey, Hannah (0-1)

Boise State LogoBoise State

Batting:

2B: Fillmore, Bradie 1

HR: Lalor, Kelsey 1

RBI: Adams, Ashlyn 2 ; McKay, Jessica 1 ; Lalor, Kelsey 3 ; Johnson, Karlee 1

SF: Lalor, Kelsey 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Adams, Ashlyn 1 ; Seng, Alison 1 ; Huchingson, Serena 3 ; Lalor, Kelsey 2 ; Bennett, Autumn 1

SB: Huchingson, Serena 1

HBP: Huchingson, Serena 2

Illinois State LogoIllinois State

Batting:

2B: Kennedy, D. 1 ; Strandgard S 1

3B: Olson, E. 1

HR: Leonard, M. 1 ; Strandgard S 1

RBI: Leonard, M. 1 ; Kennedy, D. 1 ; Olson, E. 2 ; LaFount, Bri 1 ; Strandgard S 4 ; Chval, K. 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Leonard, M. 2 ; Olson, E. 2 ; Wiebel, A. 1 ; Coursey, A. 1 ; LaFount, Bri 2 ; Vanderpool T 1 ; Strandgard S 1 ; Pence, K. 1 ; Chval, K. 1

PO: Wiebel, A. 1 ; Chval, K. 1

Game Leaders

22

Kelsey Lalor

rf
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
3
6

Ashlyn Adams

cf
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
23

Jessica McKay

lf
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
7

Bradie Fillmore

3b
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0

Players Mentioned

6

Ashlyn Adams

OF
/ Softball
24

Emily Alandt

OF
/ Softball
5

Autumn Bennett

INF
/ Softball
11

Bradie Fillmore

UTIL
/ Softball
21

Serena Huchingson

C/1B
/ Softball
8

Karlee Johnson

INF/OF
/ Softball
22

Kelsey Lalor

UTIL
/ Softball
23

Jessica McKay

OF
/ Softball
27

Bella Rocco

INF
/ Softball
1

Alison Seng

INF
/ Softball

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