April 3, 2016
Fort Collins, Colo. - Making up a postponed series from last week, San Jose State (15-18, 4-1 MW) split a pair of games on Sunday, losing 9-3 before taking a 13-5, six-inning win against the Colorado State Rams (16-15, 2-3 MW).
The teams were originally scheduled to play their three-game Mountain West series on March 24-26, but a freak snow storm led to the closure of Denver International Airport and forced the teams to play a doubleheader on Sunday and a single game on Monday.
Game 1 - Colorado State 9, San Jose State 3
The Spartans worked CSU starter Holly Reinke for a pair of walks and banged out 10 hits, but scored just three times leaving 10 runners on in a 9-3 loss.
SJSU had runners on base in every inning and runners in scoring position with one out in three of the first four frames, but couldn't get the clutch hit to push any runs across. Meanwhile, the Rams scored single runs in the first and third and two runs each in the second and fourth to take a 6-0 lead into the fifth.
Jessie Hufstetler (2-for-4, RBI, 2 2B) smacked a two-out double to right center to lead off the fifth and Alyssa Martinez came all the way around from first to break the ice for San Jose State.
In the sixth the Spartans added two more runs. Taylor Purdy (3-for-4, R) led off with a single. Emma Entzminger (2-for-3, R) was hit by a pitch and both moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Alexandra Luna (1-for-3, RBI) singled in Purdy and on the play an error by the CSU right fielder allowed Entzminger to score which made it 6-3.
Spartans' starter Katelyn Linford hit the first batter she faced in the bottom of the inning and was lifted for Chantelle Ladner. Linford (3-7) allowed seven runs on eight hits and walked three in the loss.
Ladner gave up a two-run homer to the first batter she faced and Colorado State added another run in the inning to take a 9-3 lead.
In the seventh, Hufstetler hit a one-out double and two batters later got to third on a Purdy single, but a ground out ended the threat and the game.
Colorado State's Holly Reinke (10-7) earned the win with a complete game effort and ended the Spartans five-game winning streak.
Colorado State 9, San Jose State 3 (Apr 03, 2016 at Fort Collins, Colo.) (Game 1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
San Jose State...... 000 012 0 - 3 10 1 (14-18, 3-1 MW)
Colorado State...... 121 203 X - 9 10 1 (16-14, 2-2 MW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn; LADNER, Chantelle(6) and Luna, Alexandra.
Colorado State - REINKE, Holly and MANZANARES,.
Win-REINKE, Holly(10-6) Loss-LINFORD, Katelyn(3-7) T-2:02 A-119
HR CS - MANZANARES, (3).
Weather: 60 degrees, sunny
LINFORD faced 1 batter in the 6th.
Game 2 - San Jose State 13, Colorado State 5
The Spartans used a seven run fourth inning to bust open a 2-0 game en route to a 13-5 victory. It was the fifth straight game with double-digit hits for SJSU. But where as in the first game the team left 10 on; in this game San Jose State had 11 hits and two walks, but left just two runners on.
SJSU broke a 0-0 tie in the top of the third with a pair of runs. Alyssa Avila (3-for-3, 2R, RBI, HR, 2B) blasted the first home run of her college career, a shot to right center, to give the team a 1-0 lead.
Two batters later Brittany Abacherli reached on a fielder's choice, stole second, and then scored on the first of three Rams errors in the game. Alyssa Martinez lifted a fly ball to center which the CSU fielder settled under. Inexplicably the centerfielder plain dropped the ball, which allowed Abacherli to score giving the Spartans a 2-0 lead.
Jessie Hufstetler (2-for-4, R, RBI, 3B) led off the fourth with her third triple in as many games and then scored on an error by the CSU right fielder, which allowed batter Madison Aurin (1-for-4, R, 2RBI) to get to second. Emma Entzminger, Avila, Casey Watt (2-for-2, R, RBI) and Brittany Abacherli (1-for-4, 3R, RBI) followed Aurin with four singles in four successive at-bats. Entzminger, Watt and Abacherli's hits each drove in a run.
Two batters later, with two on, Jessica Madrid (1-for-4, 2R, 3RBI, HR) crushed her first homer of the year to dead center and SJSU was up 9-0.
Colorado State got one run back in the bottom of the inning. It came off Colette Riggs and spelled the end of the day for Spartans' starter. She surrendered three hits and one unearned run in 3.2 innings and improved her record to 4-2. Riggs has won her last three starts, pitching 13.1 innings and allowing just two earned runs. Emily Rogers came on in relief and finished the inning on a fly out with two runners on base.
Colorado State avoided being run-ruled in the fifth by scoring twice.
In the Spartans' sixth the team loaded the bases with no outs. A Martinez groundout plated a run. Two batters later, Hufstetler singled in a run. Aurin followed her with a two-RBI single to make the score 13-3.
CSU got three hits and scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, but a Rogers a strikeout ended the game at 13-5. It's the third run-rule victory for the team in four Mountain West contests.
Colorado State used three pitchers with starter Bridgette Hutton (3-7) getting tagged with the loss.
San Jose State 13, Colorado State 5 (Apr 03, 2016 at Fort Collins, Colo.) (Game 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
San Jose State...... 002 704 - 13 11 1 (15-18, 4-1 MW)
Colorado State...... 000 122 - 5 9 3 (16-15, 2-3 MW)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: San Jose State - Riggs, Colette; ROGERS, Emily(4) and Avila, Alyssa. Colorado State - HUTTON, B; PETAKOFF, La(4); REINKE, Holl(6) and MANZANARES,.
Win-RIGGS, Colette(4-2) Loss-HUTTON, B(3-7) T-1:55 A-156
HR SJ - Madrid, Jessica; Avila, Alyssa.
Weather: 60 degrees and sunny
PETAKOFF, La faced 2 batters in the 6th.
The series wraps up on Monday with a single game scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. (MT). Live Stats and streaming video are available at www.sjsuspartans.com.