By Benny Garcia — Reporter
This weekend San Jose State softball (0-3) takes on Saint Mary’s College of California (5-4) in a three-game series at Cottrell Field in Moraga, Calif.
The Spartans are coming off of a tough series against Stanford University, where they were swept in the three-game slate.
It was a tough debut for the new coaching staff.
SJSU allowed Stanford to score a total of 22 runs, while the Spartans could only muster up four runs in the entire series.
Stanford pitching dominated SJSU hitters as the Spartans could only combine for 15 hits in 76 at-bats, totaling a .197 average in the three games.
The Spartans struck out a total of 22 times in the series.
A bright spot for the Spartans was junior utility player Alyssa Graham who managed to reach base six times with four hits in seven at-bats.
No Spartan pitcher was able to have success against the Cardinal.
Out of the four pitchers who were used in the series, they combined for a total of 18 earned runs given up.
After a strong 2020 season in which senior Caroline Bowman had only allowed 9 runs in 34.1 innings pitched, she was tagged in her 2 appearances against Stanford and was responsible for two losses in the series allowing 7 earned runs on 16 hits.
The same can be said for junior Jenessa Ullegue, as she had a tough time in the circle allowing 6 earned runs on 11 hits and was hit with the loss in game three of the series.
After a disappointing series, the Spartans look ahead to their series against the Gaels.
Saint Mary’s is only hitting for a .236 average with 51 strikeouts this year with only 7 extra base hits in 9 games this season.
While they have struggled offensively up to this point, so has the pitching.
The Gaels pitcher’s have allowed opponents to hit for a .265 average, allowing 11 extra base hits and 83 total bases.
Saint Mary’s has given up more runs (28) than they have scored (24), and haven’t had much success getting on base, giving up 83 total bases while only grabbing 63 of their own thus far.
Catch the action this weekend on Friday Feb. 26 at 1 p.m. and Sunday Feb. 28 for a doubleheader that starts at 2:00 p.m.
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