POCATELLO − It wasn’t the perfect opening to Big Sky Conference play that the Idaho State softball team envisioned, but winning two out of three ain’t bad.

The Bengals continued their robust offensive performance in taking two of three from Weber State over the weekend, but poor pitching performances on Sunday prevented ISU from getting a sweep.

Idaho State took the Saturday doubleheader at Miller Ranch Stadium, winning 7-3 and 12-4 in a run-rule-shortened, five-inning nightcap. The Wildcats bounced back, scoring seven times in the first inning of the Sunday closer before holding on for an 11-8 win.

“Getting two wins to start conference season, that’s huge,” said ISU head coach Andrew Rich after Saturday’s sweep. “You want to get off on the right foot in conference and not having to be chasing wins as you go through it. It’s a five-week sprint to the finish. It’s not like we have 25 or 30 games to ease into it.”

The Bengals rode the bats of outfielders Alyssa Yee and Jaden Moore in the opener, with Yee getting two hits, scoring two runs, and driving in a run, while Moore had a pair of hits, drove in four runs and clubbed a homer.

Kasey Aguinaga pitched six strong innings, giving up only two unearned runs, to get her ninth win of the season.

Then in the nightcap, Yee, a senior from Torrance, Calif., was a perfect 4-fo- 4 at the plate, including an electrifying, two-out grand slam in the third inning that put Idaho State in control.

“I changed my mindset to the pressure is all on the pitcher,” said Yee of her grand slam. “She threw me one pitch on the inside for a strike and then she threw me another mistake on the inside and I decided to capitalize on it and that was it.”

The grand slam capped a five-run inning that put ISU up 8-0. The Wildcats worked their way back into the game with four runs in the fourth inning, but the Bengals’ powerful lineup responded with home runs from Sidney Groves and Camryn McDonald, and run-producing hits by Ava Brown and Moore.

“Alyssa set the table at the top of the lineup,” said Rich. “She set the tone from the beginning. She leads off that first game with a double and that kind of sets the tone for the day. Then obviously the big swing, the grand slam in that second game to blow that one open. With two outs, we go from a 4-0 lead to an 8-0 lead right on the spot. That’s huge.”

Marley Goluskin got the start and the win in the second game, despite having some struggles in the fourth inning. Riley Wickum came on to finish the game with a scoreless fifth.

“I thought our pitching was awesome,” said Rich. “They had to deal with some tough (strike) zones. I thought the zones were changing throughout the game, which was hard on the pitchers. Usually, as the game goes on, you learn the zone. Today, I thought we had to adjust to some changing zones… But they threw awesome. We’ve gotta play some cleaner defense behind them so we can limit the pitch counts a little bit.”

The pitching let the Bengals down on Sunday.

Wickum gave up seven runs in the only inning she pitched, and Megan Meracle yielded another four earned runs in her four innings of work. The Wildcats got home runs from Mariyah Delogado, Jordan Hart and Abby Grundy, collected 13 hits and walked six times.

The Bengal offense tried to make a comeback, led once again by Yee, who had three hits, scored two runs and drove in three runs, including a home run. Moore and third baseman Kennedy Dudley also homered for ISU, which had seven round-trippers in the three-game series.

After ISU’s two wins on Saturday, Rich outlined the importance of closing out the series with a win on Sunday.

“Sweeping series is how you win conference championships,” Rich said. “Especially when you’re at home. You’ve gotta take advantage of the home games, and you’ve gotta take advantage when you got a shot at sweeping a series. Gotta find a way, grind it out no matter what it takes.”

ISU, however, couldn’t overcome Weber State’s big offensive day Sunday.

The Bengals ended the weekend with a 2-1 mark in the Big Sky and 25-14 overall. They are tied for second in the conference with Northern Colorado, a game behind Montana, which swept Portland State over the weekend.

The Bengals return to action on Friday with a home doubleheader against Portland State, with games scheduled to start at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. They close the series with a game on Saturday at 1 p.m.