March 22, 2014
Box Score - UC Santa Barbara
Box Score - Long Beach State
San Diego, Calif. - A come-from-behind eight-inning win in the second game of a doubleheader helped the San José State University softball team split its opening day against Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara at the University of San Diego Tournament on Saturday.
"These were two tough teams," head coach Peter Turner said. "I was happy with certain facets of our game, including our hitting and pitching today."
In the Spartans' (16-12) second game of the day, against Long Beach State (21-9), Spartans lead off the sixth with vigor, trailing 3-0. Michelle Cox, Jessica Garcia and Jessie Hufstetler recorded consecutive hits to open the frame, with Garcia's double driving in Cox. After a ground out, Alyssa Martinez picked up where the team left off. Her single through the left side plated Garcia. In the next at bat, Erin Rodriguez's sacrifice fly drove in Casey Lester, pinch running for Jessie Hufstetler, for the 3-3 tying run and forcing the game in to extra innings.
In the eighth, Martinez knocked a hard-hit single to left field, plating Hufstetler and Garcia. After a pop-up, Kryn Masutani hit an RBI-single to score Jessie Meyer for the 6-3 run. The 49ers tacked on a run in the bottom of the inning, allowing San José State to earn the 6-4 victory.
Madison Fish (3-1) pitched 3.1 no-hit innings, earning the win with five strikeouts. Said Turner, "I was pleased with how she threw today. She allowed us to stick around and have a big inning."
Starter Allison Lang scattered six hits and allowed one earned run in 4.2 innings of work.
San José State left the first inning of their opening game, against UC Santa Barbara, with a 2-0 lead, but was unable to counteract timely Gaucho hits and fell, 6-5.
In the first, Hufstetler drew a bases-loading walk and Sharon-Renae Estrada's powerful swing yielded a double and drove in Michelle Cox and Jessica Garcia for the 2-0 lead.
But UC Santa Barbara (20-6) negated the Spartans' advantage with four runs in the second and third frames for the 4-2 score.
Cox's sacrifice fly in the fourth brought San José State within one. Both Meyer and Devin Caldwell reached base on Gaucho errors and Cox let the ball fly to center field to plate Meyer for the 4-3 score.
The Gauchos held the one-run lead for just one-and-a-half innings. A two-out triple in the sixth scored sixth runner for the Gauchos.
Casey Watt responded in the next inning with an RBI-single but couldn't match UC Santa Barbara's six runs for the final 5-4 score.
Katelyn Linford (6-6) suffered the complete game loss, scattering eight hits and allowing four earned runs. She fanned four batters and walked one.
On the day, Hufstetler batted .714 (5-for-7) with two doubles and an RBI. Garcia scored three runs, and Martinez drove in three runners.
San José State rematches with UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State tomorrow, playing the Gauchos at 10:00 a.m. and the Gauchos at 12:30 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara 5, San Jose State 4 (Mar 22, 2014 at San Diego, Calif.)
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San Jose State...... 200 100 1 - 4 8 2 (15-12)
UC Santa Barbara.... 013 001 X - 5 8 3 (20-6)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn and Garcia, Jessica. UC Santa Barbara - Collins;
Pingree(1); Wisdom(5) and Moore, M.
Win-Pingree(5-0) Save-Wisdom(2) Loss-LINFORD, Katelyn(6-6)
Game notes:
Pingree faced 1 batter in the 5th.
San Jose State 6, Long Beach State 4 (Mar 22, 2014 at San Diego, Calif.)
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San Jose State...... 000 003 03 - 6 9 4 (16-12)
Long Beach State.... 100 020 01 - 4 6 1 (21-9)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Lang, Allison; FISH, Madison(5) and Masutani, Kryn.
Long Beach State - Hansen; Pola(6) and Lombardi.
Win-FISH, Madison(3-1) Loss-Pola(0-1)