San Jose, Calif. - The San José State softball team, which posted a 3-3 record in last week's season opening Lion Classic in Hammond, La., heads to New Mexico this weekend to compete in the 2019 Troy Cox Classic.
The Spartans open the tournament, hosted by New Mexico State, against Montana and Texas State on Friday. SJSU will face New Mexico State and Bradley on Saturday and then wrap up the weekend on Sunday with its second game against NMSU.
2019 Troy Cox Classic
Las Cruces, N. M.
Friday, February 15
vs. Montana - 9:00 a.m. (MT)
vs. Texas State – 1:30 p.m. (MT)
Saturday, February 16
at New Mexico State - 4:00 p.m. (MT)
vs. Bradley – 6:00 p.m. (MT)
Sunday, February 17
at New Mexico State – 1:30 p.m. (MT)
All SJSU's games in the Troy Cox Classic will be contested at the New Mexico State Softball Complex. Live stats will be available for all games as will a video stream for the San José State at NMSU game on Sunday. Links for live stats and streaming video can be found on the Spartans schedule page at www.sjsuspartans.com.
Quick Look At The Spartans
San José State went 3-3 last weekend with wins against Southeastern Louisiana, Northern Illinois and Mississippi Valley State in its first three games. They then lost to Southern Illinois and a pair against Nicholls State.
Makayla Englestad is off to a fast start. She leads the team with a .533 batting average, six runs, eight hits including a pair of doubles and four walks. She has a .667 on base percentage and when she gets there is 2-for-2 in stolen bases. Madison Aurin and Kaelin Amrein lead the team with four RBIs. Amrein and Georgia Blair have a home run each.
In the circle, Jenessa Ullegue has a 1.00 ERA and a 1-1 record. She has thrown a staff-high 14.0 innings, struck out 11 and walked just two, while limiting batters to .189 average. The entire staff has a 2.28 ERA.
Opponent Previews
Montana Grizzlies (1-4)
Montana started the season last weekend at the NorCal Kickoff hosted by UC Davis. They posted a 1-4 record with a win over Santa Clara, but lost to UC Davis twice and UCSB and CSU Bakersfield once each.
In a small sample size, Maygen McGrath is the team's leader in batting average (.385), hits (5) and triples (1). She, along with three others, has driven in a team-high two runs.
In the circle, Montana has a team ERA of 4.04 with Colleen Driscoll posting a 1-0 record and a 2.17 ERA. She has tossed 9.2 innings, struck out five while walking two, and batters are hitting .314 off her.
This will be the first meeting between these two programs.
Texas State Bobcats (2-2)
Texas State started the season hosting the 2019 Bobcat Classic. They went 2-2 with a wins over Colorado State and North Dakota State, but lost to UTSA and North Dakota State in a rematch.
Hailey MacKay is one of two hitters leading the team with a .417 batting average. She has a team-leading six RBIs and two of the team's three extra-base hits (a double and homer).
In the circle, Texas State has a team ERA of 2.66 with Dalilah Barrera posting a 2-0 record and a 0.68 ERA. She has tossed 10.1 innings, struck out 13 while walking three, and batters are hitting .158 off her.
This will be the fourth meeting between these two programs. The Spartans and Bobcats played a three-game Western Athletic Conference series at Texas State in 2013. SJSU took the first two games, before dropping the get-away game.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-0)
New Mexico State started the season hosting the 2019 NM State Invitational. They posted a 4-0 record with a pair of wins over Creighton and single victories over New Mexico and UTEP.
In a small sample size, Brandy Hernandez is the team's batting leader (.667). The power comes from Mya Fielder with two homers and a team-high eight RBIs. Two others, Victoria Castro and Kelsey Horton, lead the team with three round trippers each.
In the circle, New Mexico State has a team ERA of 4.38 with Samaria Diaz posting a 2-0 record and a 0.88 ERA. She has tossed 8.0 innings, struck out 12 while walking four, and batters are hitting .133 off her.
This will be the 60th meeting between these two programs with SJSU holding a 32-27 lead in the all-time series. The Spartans and Aggies were members of the Big West from 1991-96 and then the Western Athletic Conference from 1997-2013. Since SJSU left the WAC and joined the Mountain West, the teams have split a pair of non-conference matchups.
Bradley Braves (1-4)
Bradley started the season last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State. They posted a 1-4 record with a win over Seattle, but lost to Stanford, Oregon, Utah and Weber State.
Lucy Mead is the team's leader in batting average (.313), hits (5) and triples (1). She, along with two others, has driven in a team-high two runs.
In the circle, Bradley has a team ERA of 6.52. Grace French is 0-1, but has a 0.81 ERA in 8.2 innings. She has four strikeouts and batters are hitting .286 off her.
This will be the third meeting between these two programs. The Spartans and Braves have met twice at neutral sites. In 2011, Bradley defeated the SJSU 3-2 and in 2014 San José State returned the favor with an 8-4 victory.