at UNLV
27-11, 8-6 MW
April 17 - 6:00 p.m.
April 18 - 4:00 p.m.
April 19- 12:00 p.m.
Eller Media Stadium - Las Vegas, Nev.
Spartans On The Road Again, This Week at UNLV
San José State hits the road for the second consecutive week of Mountain West play for three games at UNLV starting Thursday night. The Spartans enter the series with a 27-14 overall record and continue to be tied for second place with Nevada in the Mountain West standings with a 7-5 record.
LIVE STATS: All three days - https://unlvrebels.com/sidearmstats/softball/summary
VIDEO: Friday - https://player.watchstadium.com/webapp/sanjose/index.html#/live/166939?school=121&live_section=1&archive_section=1
Saturday - https://player.watchstadium.com/webapp/sanjose/index.html#/live/166944?school=121&live_section=1&archive_section=1
Sunday - https://player.watchstadium.com/webapp/sanjose/index.html#/live/166960?school=121&live_section=1&archive_section=1
The Spartans lost their second consecutive MW series, dropping two of three games at San Diego State last weekend. SJSU lost the first game 3-2 in eight innings last Friday night, but responded on Saturday with a 6-2 win that included a Madison Aurin two-run home run and an Alyssa Graham two-run home run. The Aztecs won the series finale, 3-0, on Sunday. San José State lost back-to-back MW series for the first time since the 2017 season when the team lost at San Diego State (3/31-4/2) and at home to Colorado State (4/7-9).
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV enters the series with a 27-11 overall record and an 8-4 Mountain West record, alone in fourth place in the MW standings. The Rebels have also lost their past two MW series, losing 2-of-3 last weekend at Colorado State and 2-of-3 in a home series with Fresno State to start April.
The Rebels are hitting .319 as team with 328 hits, 203 runs scored, 186 RBI, 47 doubles and 26 home runs. The team has stolen 45 bases in 51 attempts.
Lauren Tycksen leads the team in hitting with a .386 average. She has a team-high 49 hits, 37 runs scored and drove in 16 runs. Mia Trejo is second on the team with a .379 batting average and has 23 runs scored, seven home runs and 39 RBI. Reina is the team leader in stolen bases with 18 in 19 attempts, while Tycksen is second with 17 steals on 19 tries.
In the circle, the Rebels have a 2.29 ERA with 184 strikeouts in 257 innings pitched. The pitching staff is led by Jenny Bressler who has a 16-5 record in 27 appearances and 132.1 innings pitched. She enters the weekend with a 2.12 ERA with 21 games started, 11 complete games, five shutouts and four combined shutouts. Bressler has struck out 105 batters and walked only 40. Breana Burke begins the series with a 1.87 ERA in 82.1 innings pitched. She has a 7-4 record in 21 appearances and six complete games and has struck out 47. Charlie Masterson rounds out the staff with a 3.64 ERA and a 4-2 record in 10 appearances in the circle.
UNLV is one of the top teams in the nation in fielding percentage at .978, and has turned 21 double plays.
Head coach Kristie Fox is in her second year at the helm of the program.
UNLV leads the all-time series 44-25, dating back to the first meeting in 1987. The Spartans swept the series last year and have won 11 of the past 14 meetings.
BOW TOSSES A NO-NO
Caroline Bowman became the 13th player in program history to throw a no-hitter when she defeated the UMass Lowell River Hawks 5-0 on March 15. Bowman faced one batter over the minimum, and, if not for her own fielding error in the second inning, she would have tossed a perfect game. In the contest, the down-ball pitcher had one strikeout and recorded 18 of the other 20 outs on the infield. It is Bowman's first no-hitter as a collegiate pitcher.
MOUNTAIN WEST ACTION
San José State currently is tied for second place in the Mountain West standings, behind Colorado State who is 13-2 in league play. The Spartans are tied with Nevada at 7-5 in conference play, a half game up on UNLV who is 8-6. The Wolf Pack host Colorado State, while SJSU is at UNLV.
In the sixth season of playing in the conference, SJSU loves the opening series of Mountain West play. Overall the team is 15-3 in those match ups, and in 2015, 2016 & 2018 swept Boise State, UNLV and San Diego State, respectively.
In its six conference home openers, the Spartans are nearly as successful. They are 15-3 in MW home openers, losing only one series, 2-1 to Colorado State in 2017. The Spartans swept Boise State last weekend.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Since opening Spartan Softball Field at the end of the 2018 season, SJSU is VERY comfortable at home. San José State is 18-4 this season and 21-4 overall since the opening of its new field. The field was opened on April 27, 2018, in time for the team's last home series of last season, and SJSU swept the three-games series from New Mexico by scores of 3-1, 2-1 & 3-1.
MADDY & THE CAREER LISTS
When her career ends, Madison Aurin will find her name plastered all over the San José State record book, making her one of the best all-around players in Spartan softball history. Aurin ranks in the top-10 of batting average (7th - .336), on-base percentage (10th - .400), slugging (2nd - .560), home runs (3rd - 27), RBI (3rd – 150), doubles (T5th - 39), total bases (4th – 315) and sacrifice flies (1st – 14).
In the circle, she is 14th in ERA (3.04), 18th in wins (19), tie for ninth in saves (3).
Defensively she is first in fielding percentage (.991) and double plays turned (59), seventh in chances (1,055), and sixth in putouts (942).
WINNING STREAK RECORD SET
Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win, Win
That's 12 win in a row for the Spartans. The team won 12 straight from an 8-0 win over Weber State on March 10 to a 4-2 win at Fresno State on March 23. The streak ended with the 4-3 loss at Fresno State on March 24.
Longest winning streaks in school history
12 games March 10-23, 2019
11 games February 26-March 15, 1992
10 games March 15-27, 2013
10 games February 27-March 14, 2010
10 games February 14-March 15, 1991
CAN'T STRIKE US OUT
Two Spartans rank in the top-100 nationally in toughest to strikeout out (through games played Tuesday 4/16.) Cassidy Clark ranks as the 68th toughest to strikeout out, happening just once every 19.5 at bats. Madison Aurin is the 76th toughest to strikeout in the nation, striking out just once every 19.2 at bats. This season, both players have only struck out six times each.
ULLEGUE MAKES IMPACT
Freshman Jenessa Ullegue is making a difference with her bat, in the circle and her defense. She leads the team in hitting with a .361 batting average, slugging percentage at .542 and on-base percentage at .449. Ullegue has 30 hits, four doubles and three home runs.
In the circle, she has the team's best record at 12-3 and leads the team in ERA at 2.19. In 12 starts, 21 appearances and nine complete games, she has three shutouts and has saved three games. Her 89.2 innings top the team, as do her 67 strikeouts, and her .232 opponents batting average is best on the staff.
When she is not pitching, she can usually be found playing in the outfield. Ullegue is perfect in the field in 32 chances with 19 putout and 13 assists.
MIRANDA & GRAHAM
Arianna Miranda and Alyssa Graham have made an impact on the 2019 Spartans.
Miranda has started in 34 games, whether in right field (16), designated player (7), first base (6), left field (4) and catcher (1). She is third in hitting (.302) , hits (32) and RBI (15) and has six doubles and three home runs.
Graham has found herself on the corner, starting the past 13 games at third base and 25 total starts there. She is hitting .277 with 23 hits, eight runs scored, seven doubles and three home runs.
REGULAR PLAYING TIME WAS ALL IT TOOK
In her first two years Makayla Englestad made just nine starts and 65 total appearances and batted .237 (9-for-38). She scored 25 runs, mostly as a pinch runner, and appeared mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement.
Fast-forward to 2019, Englestad has made 38 starts of her 41 games played. She has 24 starts in left field, 13 in center and one in right and has been the team's leadoff hitter in 32 games.
This season, she is hitting .261 (30-for-115) with five doubles, three triples and has 10 RBI. She has a .357 slugging percentage and a .370 on base percentage which includes 17 walks, is 5-for-7 in stolen base attempts and leads the squad with 20 runs scored.