March 21, 2015
San Jose, Calif. - The San José State offense continues to thrive through 23 games this year and two games of the 2015 Mountain West schedule. SJSU defeated Boise State 8-0, in six innings, for its second run-rule win in as many days and put pressure on the rest of the conference to keep up.
The Spartans (21-11, 2-0 MW), the top hitting team in the Mountain West at .348, pounded out 11 hits against Boise State pitching for the second game in a row. But it shouldn't be overlooked that the team's pitching has limited the Broncos to just one run and three hits in back-to-back games. After surrendering a run in the first inning yesterday, the Spartans pitching staff has shut out Boise State in the last 11.
Madison Fish (11-3) pitched all six innings for San José State, her fifth complete game of the year, and in shutting out Boise State lowered her ERA to a team-best 3.19. Fish also added to her team leading strikeout total. She has struck out 56 batters in 68.0 innings and her 11 wins are already three more than she has had in any of her previous three seasons as a Spartan.
SJSU took equal advantage of both Bronco (8-24, 0-2 MW) pitchers on Saturday. Against starter Nicole Wilson, the Spartans rapped out six hits and scored four runs in 3.0 innings. After retiring Michelle Cox to lead off the bottom of the first, Wilson hit Jessica Madrid and then saw Jessie Hufstetler smack the first of two doubles on the day. In two games against Boise State, Hufstetler is 6-for-7, with four doubles, four runs and three RBI. She has an OBP of .875 and is slugging 1.429.
Sharon-Renae Estrada then drove in the first run of the game on a fielder's choice. Two batters later Erin Rodriguez drove in the second run of the frame with a single up the middle. Taylor Purdy finished the inning with an RBI double down the left field line for a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, after an eight-pitch at bat, Nicole Schultz led off with a bomb to the left center to increase the San José State lead to 4-0. The homer was Schultz's first of the year and spelled the end of the day of Wilson (1-5).
Rachel Rodriguez came on in relief for the Broncos. She went 2.1 innings allowed four runs on five hits. Rodriguez retired the first batter she faced, but then Madrid singled and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Hufstetler doubled her in and two batters later Alyssa Martinez singled to short.
Cecilia Alvarez, who'd come in to run for Hufstetler, provided a perfect screen of the Bronco shortstop's view of the ball. She made it all the way home when the shortstop couldn't field the ball cleanly. After four SJSU led 6-0.
In the fifth the Spartans added another run. Casey Lester and Purdy picked up back-to-back one-out walks. Cox then laid down a perfect bunt to load them up. Madrid lofted a fly ball deep to left field, which plated Lester and gave the Spartans a 7-0 lead.
San José State ended the game in the sixth. With Martinez on second after leading off the inning with a single and Brittany Abacherli being hit by a pitch, Purdy hit a grounder to second and Abacherli was tagged out on the play. However, Martinez was running all the way and slid under the tag at home for the Spartans eighth run of the game.
Madrid, Martinez and Hufstetler had two hits apiece. Those three along with Estrada, Rodriguez, Purdy and Schultz had an RBI each.
The two teams wrap up the series on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. at SJSU Field.
San Jose State 8, Boise State 0 (Mar 21, 2015 at San Jose, Calif.)------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------Boise State......... 000 000 - 0 3 0 (8-24, 0-2 MW)San Jose State...... 300 311 - 8 11 2 (21-11, 2-0 MW)------------------------------ ------------------------------ ----------Pitchers: Boise State - WILSON, N.; RODRIGUEZ, R(4) and WEIR, M..San Jose State - Fish, Madison and Entzminger, Emma.Win-FISH, Madison(11-3) Loss-WILSON, N.(1-5)T-1:54 A-102 HR SJ - Schultz, Nicole (1).WILSON, N. faced 1 batter in the 4th.