San Diego, Calif. – Coming off a four-game sweep of last weeks Silicon Valley Classic, the San José State softball team extended the run to five games with a win against BYU in the opening game of the San Diego Classic I, but couldn't sustain the momentum losing to Long Beach State in the second game of the day.
San Jose State 2, BYU 1
The Spartans scored two times in the top of the first and made it stand up in a 2-1 victory over the BYU Cougars.
SJSU (10-5) got six hits, but none more important than the first two of the game. Makayla Englestad (1-for-3, R) led off with a single to left. Arianna Miranda (2-for-3, R, 2RBI, HR) then crushed the first pitch she saw and when it came down it was over the left field fence. The shot was her team-leading second of the season and she got RBIs 11 & 12, also a team-high.
In the bottom of the second, BYU cut the lead in half. The Cougars got a one out walk and then a hit-batsmen against Spartans' starter Jenessa Ullegue. Ullegue then gave up one of the three hits she allowed in the game, an RBI single up the middle to score the BYU run. It was 2-1 Spartans after two complete.
Ullegue pitched 4.0 innings, gave up three hits, one run and walked three in earning the win. She is now 4-1 on the year. Madison Aurin earned her first save of the season with 3.0 innings of no-hit relief.
Cassidy Clark (1-for-3), Aurin (1-for-3) and Rayohna Sagapolu (1-for-2, BB) recorded the other three hits for the Spartans.
Long Beach State 5, San José State 0
Long Beach State pounded out 10 hits against two Spartans pitchers and put the game away with a four-run seventh inning in a 5-0 win over San José State.
Madison Aurin (1-1) started in the circle, scattered six hits and gave up one run in 3.1 innings, and took the loss. She allowed base runners in each of the four innings in which she pitched, and in the top of the third Long Beach State converted.
LBSU (7-8) got a walk and a single to open the top of the third. A second single loaded the bases and a fourth scored the first run of the game. Aurin gave up two more singles sandwiched around a fly out in the fourth and was lifted in favor of Jenessa Ullegue.
Ullegue got the Spartans (10-6) out of the fourth with no more damage and kept the deficit at 1-0 until the top of the seventh. LBSU got a leadoff single and a stolen base to move a runner into scoring position. A single scored the second run of the game to make it 2-0. After a walk, and with two runners on, Long Beach State got a three-run homer to make it a 5-0 game, which would be the final score.
The Spartans offense managed just four hits. Makayla Englestad, Arianna Miranda and Ullegue each went 1-for-3 with a single. Rayohna Sagapolu was also 1-for-3, but her hit was a triple, her second of the season.
The Spartans are back in action on Saturday with a pair of games. They are scheduled for face Florida Gulf Coast at 11:30 a.m. and Weber State at 4:30 p.m. Live stats for both games are available on the team's schedule page.