April 17, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - In an 11-7 loss, four errors, including three in the first inning which led to four runs, put the San Jose State softball team in a hole they could never dig out of against Mountain West foe the San Diego State Aztecs.
San Diego State (24-19, 6-9 MW) scored four times in the first on one hit and three SJSU errors. Leadoff hitter Samantha Camello singled followed by an error by third baseman Emma Entzminger, on a sacrifice bunt attempt, and a hit by pitch loaded the bases.
Two batters later, a sacrifice fly was the second out. Camello came home and the throw from Jessica Madrid in left was on the bag, but it went right through catcher Alyssa Avila's legs for the first run of the inning. Starter Emily Rogers walked the next batter she faced to loaded them up again, but Rogers' ball-four pitch was in the dirt and by the time the dust had cleared SDSU had scored two more runs. One on the wild pitch an another on Avila's second error of the inning, this time a throwing mistake.
San Diego State capped the inning with one more run on a wild pitch to take a 4-0 lead after half an inning.
San Jose State (19-21, 8-4 MW) responded with three runs in the third. With one out, Brittany Abacherli (2-for-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR) doubled and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Madrid (2-for-3, R). Jessie Hufstetler was hit by a pitch from SDSU starter Erica Romero to put runners on the corners with two outs. Madison Aurin (3-for-4, R, 4 RBI, HR) then clobbered a 1-0 pitch over the left field fence for her fourth home run of the season. That quickly, the Spartans had cut the lead to one run, 4-3.
The Aztecs gave themselves a three-run cushion in the fifth with a pair of runs. Rogers loaded the bases on a hit batter and back-to-back singles. Jenavee Peres, on third, took advantage of a Spartans lapse in concentration to steal home. Three batters later, with another SDSU run in, Rogers was lifted in favor of Colette Riggs, who go the final two outs to end the inning.
Rogers would take the loss. She gave up six hits and six runs, but only two were earned in 4.1 innings to drop her record to 2-3.
The score remained 6-3 into the seventh. However in its half of the inning, San Diego State scored five times on six hits to blow the game open.
The Spartans fought back in the last of the seventh. Abacherli smacked her team-leading eighth homer of the year, a two-run shot to dead center to make it 11-5. The next two batters, Madrid and Hufstetler (1-for-3, 2 R) both reached safely. Madrid got on after a fielding error, Hufstetler on a single, and the pair moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Aurin singled in Madrid and two batters later, pinch hitter Erin Rodriguez singled in Hufstetler for the final margin of 11-7.
Romero (11-8) went six innings and gave up nine hits and six runs in the win.
Both teams had 12 hits, but the Spartans four errors led to five unearned runs. SDSU committed one error which led to one unearned run.
The loss costs SJSU its first series in conference play this year. San Jose State had won its series against UNLV and at Colorado State and at Utah State to open Mountain West play.
San Jose State heads to Reno, Nev., next week for a three-game Mountain West Conference series with the Wolf Pack beginning on Friday, April 22.
San Diego State 11, San Jose State 7 (Apr 17, 2016 at San Jose, Calif.)
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San Diego State..... 400 020 5 - 11 12 1 (24-19, 6-9 MW)
San Jose State...... 003 000 4 - 7 12 4 (19-21, 8-4 MW)
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Pitchers: San Diego State - ROMERO, Erica; FORMBY, Alex(7) and . San Jose State -
Rogers, Emily; RIGGS, Colette(5); LINFORD, Katelyn(7) and .
Win-ROMERO, Erica(11-8) Loss-ROGERS, Emily(2-3) T-2:08 A-192
HR SJ - Abacherli, Brittany (8); Aurin, Madison (4).