San Jose, Calif. - A pair of fourth inning fielding errors led to three unearned runs for the UC Davis Aggies as the San José State softball team lost 6-5 on day two of the Silicon Valley Classic II on Friday afternoon.
In the top of the fourth, with two outs, two on and UC Davis (14-4) leading 3-1, shortstop Alana Burgess and third baseman Rayohna Sagapolu committed back-to-back fielding errors which let three unearned runs score and staked the Aggies to a 6-1 lead.
The score remained 6-1 until the bottom of the fifth.
With runners on first and second and one out, Jenessa Ullegue roped a shot over the head of the right fielder and was off to the races. Both base runners scored and Ullegue slid into third with a triple.
Kaelin Amrein (1-for-4, RBI) then singled through the right side to plate Ullegue (2-for-3, R, 3RBI, 3B, 2B) and get the Spartans to within two runs, 6-4.
In the seventh, with Carley Morfey pinch running at second base, Ullegue doubled in her third run of the game and advanced to third on an error in the outfield. Alyssa Avila then walked to put runners on the corners, but a ground out ended the threat and the game.
It looked like it would be a score fest in the first inning with the teams combining to score three runs.
With the Aggies up 2-0 after half an inning, Sagapolu (1-for-3, R, RBI) singled in Arianna Miranda (2-for-3, R, BB) to cut the deficit in half. Earlier in the inning, Cassidy Clark (2-for-4) had singled to put Miranda into scoring position for Sagapolu.
In the circle, Madison Aurin (1-2) was the tough luck loser. She gave up five hits and six runs, three earned, in 5.2 innings and struck out two. Caroline Bowman came on in the sixth and threw 1.1 innings of shutout relief.
The Silicon Valley Classic II continues on Saturday with three games, including the Spartans taking on CSUN at 2:00 p.m.