May 1, 2016
San Jose, Calif. - The San Jose State softball team was held to just five hits, its lowest output in 18 Mountain West games this year, and lost 6-4 to the #20 Fresno State Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon.
With the victory and a three-game sweep of the Spartans, Fresno State wins the Mountain West title and earns the conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Softball Tournament.
The series sweep is the first suffered by the Spartans since joining the Mountain West in 2014. SJSU had not been swept in 29 straight series dating back to the 2012 season. The last team to sweep San José State was BYU, in Provo, Utah, when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
The last time SJSU was swept at home was against Hawai'i and came in the final series of the 2011 season, a span of 15 home series.
San Jose State (22-24, 11-7 MW) and Fresno State had been slugging it out all weekend and Sunday was no different. Among 54 hits between the teams in the series, 28 went for extra bases, which includes 14 home runs.
Spartans' starter Katelyn Linford set the first two Fresno State (37-9-1, 18-0 MW) batters down in the top of the first, but then gave up four-straight singles. The third hit scored a run, but on the fourth, the Spartans got out of the inning on a perfect throw from leftfielder Jessica Madrid. She cut down a Bulldogs base runner at home to keep the score 1-0.
In the second, senior Taylor Purdy (1-for-2, 2 R, RBI, HR) took the first offering from Fresno State's Jill Compton and drove it over the leftfield fence and into the Deanna Mauer Plaza for her fourth home run of the season tying the game 1-1.
However in the top of the next inning the Bulldogs got the run right back on a solo shot from Kierra Willis.
In the bottom of the third Madison Aurin (1-for-3, R, 2 RBI, HR) put two on the board for the Spartans. Jessie Hufstetler (1-for-4, R) doubled to right center and got to third on a fielding error by the right fielder. Aurin brought her home with a shot to left which put SJSU back in front 4-2. It was her eighth of the season, seventh in Mountain West and third in as many games this weekend.
SJSU tacked on another run. Purdy walked and got to second on a wild pitch. Emma Entzminger (1-for-1, RBI) singled her in to make it 4-2 Spartans after three.
But as in the inning before, the Spartans gave the runs right back.
Fresno State's Lindsey Willmon hit a two-run homer and Vanessa Hernandez a solo shot to retake the lead 5-4.
In the fifth, the Bulldogs got an RBI double to make the score 6-4. The Spartans would only get two more base runners in the final three innings; an Entzminger walk in the sixth and a Madrid double in the seventh.
Both starters went the distance. Compton (22-4) earned her second complete game win of the series. Linford (7-10) lost her second game of the weekend.
Fresno State 6, San Jose State 4 (May 01, 2016 at San Jose, Calif.)
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Fresno State........ 101 310 0 - 6 10 2 (37-9-1, 18-0 MW)
San Jose State...... 013 000 0 - 4 5 0 (22-24, 11-7 MW)
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Pitchers: Fresno State - COMPTON, Jill and GUMZ, Paige. San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn and Avila, Alyssa.
Win-COMPTON, Jill(22-4) Loss-LINFORD, Katelyn(7-10) T-1:53 A-325
HR FS - WILLIS, Kierra; WILLMON, Lindsey; HERNANDEZ, Vanessa.
HR SJ - Aurin, Madison; Purdy, Taylor.