Boise State takes first-place Colorado State to extra innings, boosting NCAA hopes
With five games remaining on its regular-season schedule, the Boise State softball team needs as many wins as it can get.
Friday was a promising start.
The Broncos defeated first-place Colorado State 6-5 in 12 innings in the opening matchup of a three-game series at Dona Larsen Park. The Broncos (33-10, 11-8 MW) will host the 25th-ranked Rams (36-9, 17-5) again at 4 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday.
Senior shortstop Rebekah Cervantes hit a walk-off single up the left side to deny the Rams the Mountain West championship for at least another day. It was also Boise State’s first win over a ranked opponent at Dona Larsen Park.
“That’s my favorite situation right there — runner at third and no outs,” Cervantes said. “All I had to do was put the ball in the air, sac fly, put it somewhere deep. But I kind of psyched them out a little bit and put it on the ground.”
Boise State has already been eliminated from Mountain West title contention but potentially could obtain an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament with a strong finish to the regular season.
The Broncos have an RPI of 39 and have an opportunity to improve that number with wins against RPI No. 35 Colorado State and No. 61 Fresno State over the next two weekends.
“Every year is a little bit different with the committee. In my experience so far, you really can’t predict it,” Boise State coach Maggie Livreri said. “I think we’re in a pretty good spot. That win definitely should help. Every single win against (Colorado State) because of where they stand should help us.”
Although Boise State has victories over 11 teams that rank among the top 100 in the nation, the Broncos are considered a bubble team by national prognosticators. Softball America has the Broncos earning a No. 3 seed in the Washington regional, while FastPitchNews.com lists BSU as one of the first four teams out of the 64-team field.
“I think we needed that. This team fights. We’ve fought in every game,” Cervantes said. “Most of them haven’t really came out the way we wanted them to, but this game just shows how much that fight means to all of us.”
Down 5-2, Boise State forced extra innings with a three-run rally over the sixth and seventh innings. Junior Jessica McKay scored Cervantes with a triple, followed by junior Bradie Fillmore’s sacrifice fly to left field that trimmed the deficit to one in the bottom of the sixth inning. Freshman pinch-hitter Justene Molina led off the bottom of the seventh with a single and eventually scored the tying run from second base on Ashlyn Adams’ two-out single on a 3-2 pitch.
“Justene Molina coming off the bench with a base hit and eventually scoring that run on a fantastic slide, that’s as gritty as it gets,” Livreri said. “For somebody that’s been struggling, hasn’t been in the lineup very much, I am really, really proud of her.”
Cervantes, Adams and McKay each went 2-for-4 to lead the Broncos at the plate, while junior lefty Kelsey Broadus earned the win. Broadus (13-4) entered with two outs in the seventh inning in relief of sophomore Gianna Mancha.
Note: After Sunday’s game, Boise State will honor seniors Cervantes, Rainey Dyreson, Morgan Lamb and Kora Wade.
Track: Ostrander rocks 2019 steeplechase debut
Boise State redshirt junior Allie Ostrander won the fastest section of the 3,000-meter steeplechase late Thursday night at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Stanford, California.
It was the first steeplechase race of the season for the two-time defending national champion in the event, and she ran it in phenomenal fashion. Ostrander’s time of 9 minutes, 45.66 seconds is the fastest by an American this season and the third fastest in the world.
Women’s basketball: Broncos add forward
The Boise State women’s basketball team now has two freshmen set to join the program for the 2019-20 season with the signing of Kimora Sykes on Friday.
The 6-foot forward from Etiwanda High in Rancho Cucamonga, California, averaged 11 points, eight rebounds and three steals per game as a senior, leading the Eagles to a 26-5 record.
Sykes joins forward Chinma Njoku of Century High in Pocatello.
This story was originally published May 3, 2019 at 8:13 PM.
