Fresno, Calif. The San Jose State softball team defeated a pair of Aggies on Thursday, May 10 to advance into the third day of the 2007 Western Athletic Conference Tournament. In the first game of the day, the Spartans beat Utah State 9-1 in five innings, and in the second game they topped New Mexico State 3-1. The wins improve San Jose State’s record to 23-27 on the season. Both Aggies were eliminated from the tournament with their losses.
"I'm pleased with our performance today," said head coach Peter Turner. "We came together when we needed to. We just need to take this tournament one game at a time."
In the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game, San Jose State rallied with two runs to defeat New Mexico State 3-1. On one out, Dannielle Brown was hit by the pitch to put the first runner on base. She advanced to third on a double to center field by Brittany McConnell. Brown came around to score on a single up the middle by Sarah Smith and McConnell moved to third. Natasha Hawkins groundout out for the second out of the inning, but the play drove in McConnell to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead.
The Spartans opened the game with a run in the first inning. Liz Perez reached base on a single to left field and scored on a double to the gap by sophomore Dannielle Brown.
The Aggies tied the game at one in the top of the fifth inning on a wild pitch by Roxanne Bejarano. Stacey Lien led off the inning with a double down the right field line. Jenavieve Purcell came in to pinch run for Lien. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kriti Hanan. Purcell scored on a wild pitch to tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the sixth inning, the Aggies nearly took the lead with the bases loaded on one out and a three-one count, but junior Kasey Igarta put New Mexico State as she grabbed a line drive out of the air as it sailed up the middle and tagged second base to end the inning.
Roxanne Bejarano was the Spartans’ starter. She pitched seven inning and fanned seven Aggies as she picked up her 15th win of the season.
In the first game, the Spartans defeated Utah State with nine runs on 10 hits in five innings. McConnell and Smith were both 2-for-3 with two runs and a run batted in. Hawkins tallied three RBI in the game to help the Spartans improve advance into the second game of the day. Utah State was eliminated from the tournament with the loss and end the season with a 17-36 overall record.
“This is more of what we are capable of,” said Turner “Our offense and defense were working together to make sure we advance in this tournament.”
The Spartans broke open the game in the bottom of the third inning with five runs on four hits and three errors. Perez and Brown both batted twice in the inning, each reaching base on both occasions. Smith, McConnell and freshman Alyssa Sulay added hits while Tomiko Matsuno walked and Hawkins reached on an error. At the end of the inning, the Spartans had extended their lead to 7-1.
San Jose State added two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to end the game with the eight-run rule. Junior Kasey Igarta led off the inning with a single to left. A single up the middle by Liz Robertson put two runners on. Matsuno followed with a walk to load the bases for Sulay. Sulay hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Igarta’s pinch-runner, Kristine Miles. The last run of the game came on an error on Brown’s hit to score Robertson.
The Aggies opened the game with an early lead in the first inning. Nicole Rupp walked to lead off. Ashley Bellum singled and Rupp ended up at third following an error by Hawkins. Rupp scored on a sacrifice fly by Amy Schaible for the lone Aggie run of the game.
The Spartans took the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the first inning with two runs on three hits. On two outs, McConnell sparked the offense with a single to the shortstop. Smith followed with a single to right field and advanced McConnell to second. A wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. A single by Natasha Smith scored McConnell and Smith for the lead.
In the circle, Kelly Harrison threw a complete game for San Jose State. The right-hander allowed only four hits in the game and fanned three batters. The Aggies threw three pitchers.
The Spartans are next in action at 4:30 against Nevada at Bulldog Stadium on the campus of Fresno State.