OGDEN – In a typical Weber State Softball game on Saturday, seven Wildcats recorded hits, six runs and two pitchers combined for a near-unbeatable hit.
Weber State finished the first half of the Big Sky Conference schedule with its third streak, defeating Northern Colorado 10-1 in five innings to improve to 19-12 overall and 9-0 in league play.
Freshman pitcher Amanda Sink only needed 48 pitches in a three-inning start, which allowed for no hits and an inexperienced run. Between Kate Donaldson’s two innings in the circle, Junior Chloe Camarero crushed a triple left with two RBIs and Faith Hoe turned a triple left to hit Camarero 10-1.
So Donaldson returned in the fifth with three outs it took for a win and a combined no-hitter. With one hit, Mady Young of the Bears scorched a grounder for newcomer Emily Ruhl in third place, who made a phenomenal dive but didn’t make the throw in time for the first time.
It seemed like none of the wildcats were aware of the near miss until they were told in the post game group – to which many collectively replied, “Aww, man!”
Southern Utah started Saturday with a conference record of 5-1 ahead of a three-game streak against Montana, but Weber State is the only Big Sky team with an overall record higher than .500. In fact, no other team was .500 within five games.
While it’s the continuation of the program’s success – WSU is now 23-2 in conference games for the past two seasons – the Wildcats are a new team.
The program’s successful queen Takesha Saltern and other seniors saw their careers halfway with the 2020 season being canceled. So whether it’s the newbies Ruhl and Mia Rushton (who lead the team on average); Mainstays Camarero, the Hoe Sisters, and Ashlyn Visser; or newcomers Sink and Mariah Ramirez, contributions have come from all over the place.
“We have a saying: sometimes I, sometimes you, but always us,” said Camarero. “So it doesn’t matter who does it or when we do it, it’s always us as a team, whether we lose or win. We are just very much in agreement and we all raise each other up, even if someone is down, we just go into each other and make sure we support each other. “
Camarero said the sting of last season’s abrupt end stays with them, so practice or play games like it is their last.
Ramirez is an especially bright spot for the new looking cats. The second year is 9-4 in the circle with an ERA of 3.15, an average of .266 against and a strike-to-walk ratio of 2 to 1. She picked up the win in Friday’s opener, throwing five innings with two Run balls in a 10-2 win over Northern Colorado.
She also hits .323 on the plate and hit a solo bomb on the left field in the series finale on Saturday to take a 2-1 lead in the second.
“She is a competitor. Whether in the circle or in the batter box, she is ready to do anything,” said WSU head coach Mary Kay Amicone. “We love what she does. Jugs that rake, we say. She rakes.”
Amicone praised her team’s buy-in from top to bottom. This also includes the pitching team, where Junior Donaldson is really the only returnee. Ramirez leads the team in innings, while newbie Sink joins in as the conference game develops.
Newbies Madison Peterson, Brooke Hatfield and Jackie Gold have a handful of combined innings and are helping the team get better at practice, Amicone said.
“They really understand what they do best and how they can set up as employees. We need everyone to set up and keep learning what their role is,” she said. “We continued to build their skills and I loved the way they really bought their way into the process.”
Camarero has an angle on Big Sky Player of the Week after beating 6v10 in the Bears three-game game with nine RBIs, one doubles, one triple and one homer.
Camarero, Katelyn Whiting and Faith Hoe each drove in two races in Saturday’s 10-1 win.
Next up is a non-conference battle with Utah (Tuesday, 4 p.m. in Ogden). Weber State concludes the conference game with three games in southern Utah (April 23-24), where Portland State (April 30th-May 1st) takes place and travels to Montana (May 7th-8th).
You are not satisfied with a 9-0 start.
“We’re not even close to touching where we want to be. The result is still positive, but we have so many options for how we can develop that I’m excited about it,” said Amicone. “For us it is humble and hungry for the growth we need this season.”
Thereafter, WSU will host the conference tournament from May 13-15, based on the team’s title in the 2019 regular season, which was won by players like Saltern, Landi Hawker and Courtney Pestka, who were at Wildcat Field on Saturday for the Wildcats to see.
“You look around and we see these seniors from last year who haven’t had a chance to play … they are here, they are at home and they won the right to host the tournament. Every time we do this Coming to play at home is a privilege, “said Amicone.
“This community, we love it when they support us and I appreciate that they come out when the tickets are sold and just adapt. We are absolutely proud to have the tournament here this year.”
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