April 24, 2016
Reno, Nev. - The San José State softball team defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack 12-8 on Sunday behind a nine-hit attack to complete a three-game Mountain West Conference sweep.
It's the program's first conference road sweep since the 2010 season. That year, while a member of the Western Athletic Conference, the Spartans swept a three-game series against this same Nevada program. After this weekend, San José State (22-21, 11-4 MW) holds a commanding 14-5 record against the Wolf Pack in Reno and has climbed over the .500 mark for the season.
Sunday's game was a pitcher's duel early on. Both SJSU's Katelyn Linford and UNR's Brooke Bolinger were perfect through three innings, but in the fourth the Spartans erupted for seven runs and added five more in the sixth.
San José State sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth with the first nine reaching safely. With the bases loaded, Jessie Hufstetler was hit by a pitch driving in the first run of the frame. Madison Aurin (1-for-4, R, RBI) singled in the second and Taylor Purdy (1-for-4, R, 2 RBI) drove in two more on another single. Purdy's hit ended the day for Bolinger, who made way for McKenna Isenberg.
Emma Entzminger (1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI), the first batter Isenberg faced, doubled in two more runs making it 6-0. Three batters later, with the bases loaded again, Brittany Abacherli (2-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI) hit a sacrifice fly to score Entzminger and make it 7-0.
Nevada (30-12, 8-7 MW) didn't roll over, but instead got right back into the game scoring four runs on a pair of two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the bottom of the fifth, two of which went on Linford's line.
With one out in the fifth, a run in and a runner on first, Emily Rogers came on in relief of Linford. She surrendered a two-run homer to the first batter she faced, but after another single, she righted the ship and got the Spartans out of the inning with the game tied 7-7.
SJSU broke it back open in the top of the next inning. With one out and runners on second and third, Casey Watt hit a ball to short. The throw to firstbase was dropped allowing the runner on third to score on the error. Abachelri followed Watt with an RBI single, which set the stage for the knockout blow.
Alyssa Martinez (1-for-3, R, 3 RBI, HR) crushed a three-run bomb, which sailed over the fence in left center and nearly cleared a fence that is another 30 feet beyond the outfield. It was her second round-tripper of the season, easily the longest home run of the weekend, and made the score 12-7.
Nevada scored its final run of the game in the bottom of the sixth making the score 12-8. Rogers (3-3) set the Wolf Pack down in order in the seventh, including striking out the last two batters of the game and earned the win. In 2.2 innings she gave up three hits, two runs and struck out four.
Chase Redington (5-1), who pitched the final three innings, including the five-run sixth, took the loss. She gave up three hits, five runs, three of which were earned.
In the series, the Spartans outscored Nevada 35-to-13 and outhit them 38-to-21.
San Jose State 12, Nevada 8 (Apr 24, 2016 at Reno, Nev.)
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San Jose State...... 000 705 0 - 12 9 0 (22-21, 11-4 MW)
Nevada.............. 000 431 0 - 8 10 1 (30-12, 8-7 MW)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn; ROGERS, Emily(5) and . Nevada - BOLINGER, Brooke;ISENBERG, McKenna(4); REDINGTON, Chase(5) and .
Win-ROGERS, Emily(3-3) Loss-REDINGTON, Chase(5-1) T-2:06 A-288
HR SJ - MARTINEZ, Aylssa (2).
HR NV - SWEET, Megan (12); PURCELL, Jennifer 2 (10).