Feb. 24, 2016
San Jose, Calif. â€" The San Jose State softball team is in southern California for the first of two straight weeks of tournament play. This week the destination is Palm Springs for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The Spartans play against Bethune-Cookman on Thursday. On Friday the matchups are LIU Brooklyn and Stanford. On Sunday the pressure gets ratcheted up with games against #9 Washington and #8 Georgia.
SETTLED IN AT THE TOP OF THE ORDER
Brittany Abacherli (So., OF, Corona, Calif.) continues to wield the team's hottest bat and has solidified her position as the team's leadoff hitter. Since being inserted at the top of the batting order, in the third game of the year, Abacherli is hitting .406 (13-for-32) with an on-base percentage of .436. She leads the team with 14 hits, nine runs, 12 RBI and three home runs, including a grand slam against UTEP. In addition, Abacherli is 4-for-4 on stolen bases.
ALONE AT THE TOP
With her double against Utah in last weekend's opener in Las Vegas, Jessie Hufstetler (Sr., INF, Atascadero, Calif.) broke a tie with Veronica Ramos (2000-03) for San José State career doubles record. With a first innings double down the right field line, Hufstetler passed Ramos and now holds the school record with 43 career doubles.
HUFSTETLER INTO THIRD IN TOTAL BASES
Jessie Hufstetler (Sr., INF, Atascadero, Calif.) entered this her senior season with 289 total bases. With 12 more in the team's 11 games, she has slipped Kara Kanney (1996-98, '00 â€" 300 total bases) into third place with 301. Pat Martinez (1993-96) is the program's career leader with 361 total bases.
MORE ON JESSIE AND HER CLIMB UP SJSU'S CAREER LISTS
With 77 walks for her career, Jessie Hufstetler (Sr., INF, Atascadero, Calif.) is nine from tying Jessica Garcia (2011-14 â€" 86) for the program's career record. Hufstetler has 143 RBI and sits 23 behind Brittany McConnell (2006-10 â€" 166 RBI) for the career record.
STREAMING VIDEO
FloSoftball.com will live stream all games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. A membership, monthly or annual, is necessary to view the games and can be obtained through FloSoftball's web site.
MARY NUTTER COLLEGIATE CLASSIC OPPONENTS
BETHUNE-COOKMAN (3-8) â€" 2/25 10:30 a.m.
The Wildcats competed in the first weekend of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend. They got swept going 0-6 with losses to #4 LSU, Pacific and New Mexico, Utah Valley, UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount
With a .424 batting average (14-for-33), Annie Bakenhus is Bethune-Cookman's top hitter. Iesha Waters is the team's top run producer with seven RBI. Deidra Genera has logged a team-high 34.1 innings with 24 strikeouts, a 4.08 ERA and a 3-3 record.
LIU BROOKLYN (4-6) â€" 2/26 10:30 a.m.
The Blackbirds competed in the FGCU/Four Points Softball Invitational
in Fort Myers, Florida last weekend. They went 1-4 with a win over Hofstra. Their losses came against Southern Illinois, Saint Louis and twice to Marshall.
LIU Brooklyn's top hitter (14-for-30, .467) is Whitney West. Victoria Zamora (.321) has driven in a team-high six runs. In the circle, Erynn Sobieski has a 2-3 record and a 2.89 ERA. In 36.1 innings, and a team-high seven appearances, she has allowed 48 hits and 23 runs.
STANFORD (4-5) â€" 2/26 5:30 p.m.
The Cardinal competed in its own Stanford Nike Invitational last week. They went 1-3 with losses to North Dakota State, Long Beach State and were 1-1 against Saint Mary's.
Stanford's leading hitter is Kayla Bonstrom, who is batting .357 (10-for-28) with a pair of doubles. Victoria Molina is the team 's top run producer with seven RBI. Carolyn Lee and Haley Snyder have split time in the circle. Lee has thrown 28.1 innings, given up 31 hits and 17 runs for an ERA of 2.47 and a 1-3 record. She has started each of her seven appearances. Snyder has logged 29.0 innings and allowed 20 runs on 33 hits. Her ERA is 5.41 and her record is 3-2 in six appearances, which includes two starts.
#9 WASHINGTON (9-1) â€" 2/27 12:00 p.m.
The Huskies competed in the first weekend of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend. They posted a 4-1 record with wins over UC Santa Barbara, Notre Dame, Central Michigan and UCF and a lost to Texas A&M.
Washington's top hitter is Trysten Melhart who is 10-for-20 (.500) with a team leading 12 runs. Julia DePonte is hitting .441 with four home runs and 15 RBI. Madi Schreyer is 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA. In 30.0 innings she had allowed 23 hits and eight runs while striking out 26.
#8 GEORGIA (9-0) â€" 2/27 2:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs competed in the Disney Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla,. last weekend. They went 5-0 with wins over Omaha, Stetson, Stephen F. Austin, Jacksonville State and UAB.
Georgia's leading hitter is Syndi Emanuel who is hitting .625 (15-for-24). With 19 RBIs, Kaylee Pualloa is the team's top run producer. In five starts Chelsea Wilkinson is 5-0 with a 0.64 ERA. She has allowed two runs in 22.0 innings while striking out 29.