April 7, 2017
San Jose, Calif. - Trailing 5-1 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the San Jose State softball team rallied for three runs and had the tying run on, but couldn't claw all the way back and lost 5-4 to the Colorado State Rams on Friday afternoon at San Jose City College's Jaguars Field.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh, Casey Watt (1-for-3, R, 3B) tripled to right. Madison Aurin (1-for-3, R, RBI) followed Watt with an RBI single up the middle to make the score 5-2. After Alyssa Avila hit an infield popup for the second out, Cassidy Clark (1-for-2, R) singled moving Aurin into scoring position.
Georgia Blair (1-for-2, 2RBI), in a pinch hitting situation, singled to right center. Aurin scored as did Clark all the way from first making the score 5-4. Unable to keep the rally going, Chelsea Jenner hit a fielder's choice to short which lead to Blair being forced at second and the end of the game.
Colorado State (17-12, 5-5 MW) scored an unearned run off SJSU starter Katelyn Linford in the first and added another run in the third to take a 2-0 lead.
The Spartans (23-13, 3-4 MW) would get runners on base in each of the first five innings, but were only able to push across a run in the bottom of the third. Emma Entzminger reached on a fielding error by the Rams first baseman and Brittany Abacherli (1-fopr-3, RBI, 2B) drove her in with a double to right center. Abacherli got to third with one out, but SJSU couldn't take advantage of two opportunities to drive in the tying run.
In the Rams half of the fourth, they extended their lead to 3-1 on a solo homer from Bridgette Hutton.
On a leadoff walk, one of six CSU's Kaylynn Pierce issued on the day, a one-out single and a hit by pitch, the Spartans had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the fourth. Abacherli, who came through in the prior inning, couldn't in this situation, popping out to short and keeping the score 3-1.
Linford (15-5) was lifted after the first out of the fifth inning. She gave up three runs, two earned, on six hits, a walk and had four strikeouts in the loss. Colette Riggs replaced Linford and after hitting the first batter she faced, recorded the next two outs to get out of the inning.
Neither team threatened in the sixth, with the only base runner a hit batter in the tip of the inning.
Riggs got the first two outs to start the seventh, but then gave up a single followed by a two-run homer from the Rams' Hannah McCorkhill, which made the score 5-1 and set the stage for the Spartans three run rally in the bottom of the inning.
Pierce (4-0) went the distance for CSU. She surrendered four runs, three earned, on six hits. She walked six and struck out five.
Depending on the weather, the teams are scheduled to play game two of the series on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. at Mission College.
Colorado State 5, San Jose State 4 (Apr 07, 2017 at San Jose, Calif.)
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Colorado State...... 101 100 2 - 5 8 1 (17-12, 5-5 MW)
San Jose State...... 001 000 3 - 4 6 0 (23-13, 3-4 MW)
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Pitchers: Colorado State - PIERCE, Kayl and NELSON, A. San Jose State - Linford, Katelyn;
RIGGS, Colette(5) and Avila, Alyssa.
Win-PIERCE, Kayl(4-0) Loss-LINFORD, Katelyn(15-5) T-2:13 A-78
HR CS - MCCORKHILL, (7); HUTTON, B (2).
Game: CS-SJ1