April 21, 2018
Fort Collins, Colo. - The San José State softball team scored seven runs in the final three innings to break a 4-4 tie and took its second game of a three-game series against the Colorado State Rams on Saturday afternoon.
With SJSU's win, the road team has won the season series in each of the five years the Spartans have been in the Mountain West. Saturday's victory also gives San José State (27-14, 11-5 MW) the opportunity to sweep the Rams, one of two teams in the league against which the Spartans have never swept a series.
As in game one, a 20-4 SJSU victory, the Spartans struck first. Leadoff hitter Emma Entzminger (1-for-4, 2R) reached on a fielding error. After a groundout, Rams' starter Alison Petty walked the next two batters she faced to load the bases. Kaelin Amrein (0-for-3, 2R, 2RBI, 2BB) then walked to plate the first run of the game.
The Spartans had a chance to bust the game open early, but back-to-back infield outs ended the threat with San José State up 1-0 after half an inning.
Colorado State (23-14, 7-7 MW) scored a pair of runs in the second on a sacrifice fly and RBI single to take a 2-1 lead, but the Spartans came right back in the top of the third with three runs.
Madison Aurin (1-for-1, 2R, RBI, 2B, 4BB) led off with a double. After a fly out and walk, Georgia Blair (2-for-4, R, 2RBI, 2B, BB) doubled to left scoring Aurin and tying the game 2-2. Alyssa Avila then reached on a fielding error by the Rams second baseman. The ball went into right field and allowed two more runs to score making it 4-2 Spartans. However, the lead was short lived.
A lead off walk, followed by a triple from CSU's Corina Gamboa made it 4-3. Three batters later, with two outs and Gamboa still on third, Danni Klein smoked a shot at Spartans' third baseman Rayohna Sagapolu.
Sagapolu was able to knock the ball down, but it ricocheted to Aurin, who was in the circle. Aurin picked it up and threw to first. She would have got the runner out, but her throw pulled Blair off the bag. That error allowed the runner to score from third and tie the game 4-4.
San José State didn't get anything in its half of the fourth and in the bottom of the frame Aurin made way for Caroline Bowman.
The Sammamish, Wash., freshman was on point from the moment she entered the circle. Over the final four innings, she allowed just two hits, a walk and struck out two, while the offense heated up and scored seven runs to break the game open. With the win, Bowman improved her record to 13-2 and lowered her team-leading ERA to 2.92.
SJSU scored one run in the fifth, two in the sixth and four in the seventh.
In the fifth, with two on and two out, Brittany Abacherli (2-for-3, R, RBI, 2BB) singled down the left field line and driving in the team's fifth run of the game.
In the sixth, with a runner on first, pinch hitter Grace Garvey (1-for-1, RBI, 2B) ripped a double down the left field line plating a run and two batters later Blair singled up the middle scoring the second run of the inning and putting San Jose State up 7-4.
In the Spartans' seventh, the first two batters reach base on a single and a walk. That spelled the end of the day for Petty (4-4). Her final line would be 6.0 innings, eight hits, nine runs, 10 walks and a strikeout.
The Rams brought in Bridgette Hutton, but she would struggle from her first pitch. She hit Cassidy Clark to load the bases and then gave up back-to-back walks to making it 9-4 Spartans. Two batters later, Desiree Reyes (1-for-4, R, 2RBI, 2B), who hit a grand slam on Friday, smoked a double to the base of the fence in right center. The shot drove in the final two runs of the game making the score 11-4 SJSU.
The teams wrap up the series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (MT).
San Jose State 11, Colorado State 4 (Apr 21, 2018 at Fort Collins, CO)
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San Jose State...... 103 012 4 - 11 9 1 (27-14, 11-5 MW)
Colorado State...... 022 000 0 - 4 8 3 (23-14, 7-7 MW)
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Pitchers: San Jose State - Aurin, Madison; BOWMAN, Caroline(4) and Avila, Alyssa.
Colorado State - PETTY, A; HUTTON, B(7) and BUCHANAN, L.
Win-BOWMAN, Caroline(13-2) Loss-PETTY, A(4-4) T-2:40 A-109
Weather: Cloudy. 44 Degrees. ESE 3 mph.
PETTY, A faced 2 batters in the 7th.
Game: SJ-CS2