Feb. 22, 2015
Illinois-Chicago Box Score
Seattle Box Score
Santa Clara, Calif. - The San José State softball team won its final two games of the 2015 Bronco Classic, over Illinois-Chicago and Seattle, to finish 4-0 in the tournament. SJSU has won its last six in a row and improves its overall record to 12-3.
The Spartans defeated the Illinios-Chicago Flames 4-3 in eight innings on Saturday, February 21 and topped the Seattle University Redhawks 7-5 on Sunday.
"We talked to the team about coming out of each weekend with a winning record," head coach Peter Turner said. We've won four games in each of the tournaments we've play in so I am very pleased with where are record is after three weeks."
Versus Illinois-Chicago (2/21)
The Spartans and Flames (3-4) each banged out nine hits and left a combined 27 ducks on the pond. The Spartans' share of the total was 16 runners left on base in the 4-3 win.
"Those runners we left out there tells you all you need to know about our offense today," said Turner on Saturday afternoon. "We created scoring opportunities, but didn't cash in on them."
San Jose State loaded the bases twice in the first inning but only pushed across one run, on an Alyssa Martinez sac fly. It was the first of three innings in which SJSU would leave the bases full.
In the second, a two-out single from Jessie Hufstetler plated the team's second run, but the Spartans left another two runners on.
Allison Lang got the start for SJSU and scattered nine hits in 5.2 innings of work.
Illinois-Chicago got two hits in its half of the first inning but left the bases loaded. Lang set the Flames down in the second, but in the third UIC used a one-out single, followed by a Sharon-Renae Estrada error at third and a walk to load the bases. The next batter singled in the Flames first run.
SJSU had two hits and left two on in the third and in the fourth picked up another hit but left the runner stranded.
The teams went to the sixth inning with San José State leading 2-1. After two quick outs, Lang gave up a single followed by successive RBI doubles. The Spartans were down 3-2 and Lang's day was over. She walked two, struck out two and allowed three runs, all earned. Madison Fish came and stopped the bleeding with a fly ball out to end the inning.
The score remained 3-2 in favor of the Flames entering the bottom of the seventh. San José State opened the inning with back-to-back walks. Erin Rodriguez, the next batter, drove in the tying run with a single. The Spartans loaded the bases with two outs, but a popup to third base ended the threat and the game went to extra innings and an international tie breaker (ITB).
In an ITB, each half inning is started with the batter who made the final out in their team's previous inning starting at second base.
The Flames advanced their runner to third on a ground out, but Fish slammed the door with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
In the San José State eighth, Brittany Abacherli started on second. Jessica Madrid, who went 4-of-5 in the game, singled and after Hufstetler was intentionally walked the bases were loaded. Estrada was plunked on a 1-1 count to drive in the winning run.
Fish earned the win an improved her record to 4-1. She struck out four of the seven batters she faced and 19 of the 24 pitches she threw were strikes.
"Fish was spot on today," Turner said after the win. "She came in and shut them down. That allowed us to get some runs on the board and get out of here with the win. We weren't at our best today, we committed three errors and left way to many on base but we scratched one out and that's what is important."
San Jose State 4, Illinois-Chicago 3 (Feb 21, 2015 at Santa Clara, Calif.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Illinois-Chicago.... 001 002 00 - 3 9 0 (3-4)San Jose State...... 110 000 11 - 4 9 3 (11-3)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Illinois-Chicago - HEFLIN, E and HAMPTON, E. San Jose State - Lang, Allison; FISH, Madison(6) and Conchas, Daisy; Alvarez, Cecilia. Win-FISH, Madison(4-1) Loss-HEFLIN, E(0-3) T-2:33 A-0
Versus Seattle (2/22)
Madison Fish struck out six Redhawks in the first three innings, but gave up two runs in the first, a solo homer in the third and found herself trailing 3-0 after three.
San José State loaded the bases in the first with one out, but a double play ended the threat. In the second, SJSU had runners on second and third with no outs, but a double play, which included a play at the plate, and a fly out ended the inning.
Aylssa Martinez got San José State on the board in the third inning. Her two-out single scored Jessica Madrid from third base and sent the game to the fourth with Seattle leading 3-1.
Fish set the Redhawks (5-9) down in order in the fourth and the Spartans were back up to the plate where they scored three runs on three hits and a Seattle error.
Kryn Masutani reached on an error by the pitcher and was lifted for pinch runner Chelsea Jenner. After two quick outs, Madrid battled through an eight-pitch at bat, fouling off four offerings before singling to left. Jenner was driven in by a Jessie Hufstetler single to second in the next at bat. A wild pitch moved Madrid to third and Hufstetler to second. A balk then advanced both runners again, Madrid to home and Hufstetler to third. Sharon-Renae Estrada singled in Hufstetler to give SJSU a 4-3 lead.
In the fifth the Spartans scored three runs on two hits and three Redhawk errors. The big hit was Nicole Schultz's two-run single to right field with the bases loaded. Brittanie Akey, who entered as a pinch runner, scored San Jose State's third run of the inning on an infield error. The game went to the sixth with SJSU up 7-3.
Seattle picked up two runs on the top of the seventh. Both were charged to Fish, who was lifted with two outs, runners on first and third and a run in. Allison Lang came on, gave up an RBI single for the second run of the inning before inducing a groundout to end the game.
Fish picked up the win (5-1) with nine strikeouts. She gave up five earned runs and walked four in 6.2 innings. Lang earned the save, her third of the year. Hufstetler was the only Spartan with multiple hits and Madrid scored twice.
San Jose State 7, Seattle University 5 (Feb 22, 2015 at Santa Clara, Calif.)----------------------------------------------------------------------Seattle University.. 201 000 2 - 5 9 4 (5-9)San Jose State...... 001 330 X - 7 10 3 (12-3)----------------------------------------------------------------------Pitchers: Seattle University - Reuble, A.; Davis, L.(3) and Morrow, B.; Dominguez,S.. San Jose State - Fish, Madison; LANG, Allison(7) and Masutani, Kryn; Conchas, Daisy. Win-FISH, Madison(5-1) Save-LANG, Allison(3) Loss-Davis, L.(1-3) T-2:13 A-0 HR SU - Morrow, B..