March 10, 2017
Davis, Calif. - Colette Riggs and Katelyn Linford combined to allow just two runs and nine hits in San José State softball wins over the UMass Minutemen and UC Davis Aggies on day two of the Aggies Invitational.
Riggs tossed 6.0 innings of shutout ball against UMass with Linford coming on in the seventh to secure a 3-0 win. Then in game two, Linford defeated UC Davis for the second day in a row with a complete game 4-2 victory. Riggs moved to 3-2 on the year. Linford is 10-2 and in her last six appearances, is 5-0 with a save. The 10 wins equal her previous single-season high, which she set last season.
SAN JOSÉ STATE 3, UMASS 0
Riggs (3-2) scattered four hits over the first five innings and when she got in trouble, with the help of her defense, worked her way out of it. After the first two batters got on in the first, via a an error and a walk, catcher Alyssa Avila made a base runner pay for wandering to far from second.
She picked off the lead runner to get the first out. Riggs (6.0 IP, 4H, 4K, 3BB) then got a strikeout and things appeared to settling down. But the base runner on first for UMass stole successive bags to move into scoring position. Riggs ended the inning with a strikeout to strand the runner on third.
The rest of the UMass offense consisted a double in the second and singles in the third, fourth, and fifth but none did any damage.
The Spartans (15-9) managed just one hit, a Cassidy Clark single, through the first three frames but broke through for a run in the fourth. With two outs, Brittany Abacherli (1-for-3, R) singled to right and came all the way around to score on Madison Aurin's double. SJSU led 1-0.
In the fifth, Clark picked up her second hit of the game, a one-out single and was lifted for pinch runner Makayla Englestad. Englestad moved into scoring position on a groundout and the inning looked to be over when Emma Entzminger popped up in foul territory. However the UMass catcher dropped the pop-up to extend the inning. Entzminger (1-for-3, RBI) took advantage of the extra swing with an RBI single to score Englestad and increase the Spartans lead to 2-0.
In the sixth, the Spartans used a little two-out lightening to score the third run of the game. Following a ground out and line out, Madison Aurin (2-for-3, R, RBI) singled. Georgia Blair reached on a fielding error by the Minutemen's second baseman and Aurin moved into scoring position. Avila (1-for-3, RBI) then singled in Aurin and it was 3-0.
With the score still 3-0 after 6.5 innings; Linford came in to close the game out. She set UMass down in order on three groundouts to secure the win for Riggs and earn her third win of the season.
San Jose State 3, UMass 0 (Mar 10, 2017 at Davis, Calif.)
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San Jose State...... 000 111 0 - 3 7 1 (15-9)
UMass............... 000 000 0 - 0 4 2 (3-13)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Riggs, Colette; LINFORD, Katelyn(7) and Avila, Alyssa. UMass -
COLLERAN and DENNIS.
Win-RIGGS, Colette(3-2) Save-LINFORD, Katelyn(3) Loss-COLLERAN(1-8) T-1:26 A-0
Game: SJ-UM
SAN JOSÉ STATE 4, UC DAVIS 2
Linford went the distance for the third straight start, which includes a 3-2 eight-inning win over UC Davis yesterday.
The Aggies scored in the first off a lead off walk, a hit and a double steal. Following the walk and a sacrifice bunt, the single put runners on the corners. UC Davis executed a perfect double steal to take 1-0 lead.
The Spartans (16-9) got the run back in the top of the second on an Alyssa Avila (0-for-3 RBI) sacrifice fly. Madison Aurin (2-for-4, R) singled to lead off the inning and got to third on Georgia Blair's double. Avila lifted a fly ball to left, which the fielder dropped. It allowed Aurin to score, but Blair could not advance. The Spartans were able to load the bases with two outs, but an infield pop up end the team's chance to take the lead.
The bottom of the fourth was the pivotal point in the game. Linford gave us a long fly ball to center, which resulted in a leadoff triple for UC Davis. She then slammed the door shut with a pop up, groundout and strike out to strand the runner and preserve the 1-1 tie.
In the fifth, SJSU scored twice. Emma Entzminger (1-for-1, R) led off with a bunt single and took second on an overthrow at first. After a flyout, she was awarded third on and illegal pitch. Casey Watt has hit to put runners on the corners and after a Brittany Abacherli (1-for-4, R, RBI) single scored Entzminger, the score was 2-1. Aurin singled to load the bases. Watt was cut down on a fielder's choice for the second out and with the bases still loaded, Abacherli scored on a passed ball to make it 3-1.
SJSU added another run in the sixth. Cassidy Clark (2-for-3) singled to open the inning and moved into scoring postion on a Chelsea Jenner sacrifice bunt. Makayla Englestad came in to run for Clark and scored, unearned, on a throwing error on an Entzminger sacrifice bunt.
The Aggies got a pair of hits and a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2.
In the seventh, Linford set the UC Davis batters down in order to secure the victory over the Aggies and the team's fifth in three days.
San Jose State 4, UC Davis 2 (Mar 10, 2017 at Davis, Calif.)
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San Jose State...... 010 021 0 - 4 8 0 (16-9)
UC Davis............ 100 001 0 - 2 5 3 (7-15)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn and Avila, Alyssa. UC Davis - Reynolds, A. and
Carney, A..
Win-LINFORD, Katelyn(10-2) Loss-Reynolds, A.(3-6) T-1:41 A-0
Weather: 68 degrees
Game: SJ-UCD
San José State wraps up play in the Aggies Invitational on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. against Iowa State.