By Jose Garcia (@JoseDGarcia__) — Reporter
Mess with a bull, you get the horns. In this case, San Jose State softball dealt with other types of horns. On Saturday, the Spartans went toe-to-toe with the Colorado State Rams, losing 7-6 on a gut-wrenching walk-off.
The entire ball game was a back and forth battle between the two teams.
Colorado State struck first as Rams catcher Jayln McGuffin had an RBI groundout in the second inning. However, the Rams 1-0 lead wouldn’t last long. The Spartans responded in the subsequent inning.
SJSU pushed across three runs in the third inning, with the help of a pair of hits and an error. Aggressive baserunning for the Spartans put the Rams’ fielders in precarious positions. On more than one occasion, Colorado State’s position players would try to get an out on a base with a force. Instead, the Spartans would reach safely, passing the baton to the next batter.
In the fourth inning, the Rams cut the 3-1 deficit to just one. Spartans’ pitcher Ashley Goard got into trouble early. She walked the first batter she faced, retired the second and walked another after that. With two runners on and one out, Rams lead-off hitter Ashley Michelena was up next. An Ashley on Ashley crime ensued as Michelena slapped a single up the middle scoring one.
In the later innings, things started to become grim for the Spartans. Before that, SJSU added another run in the sixth, making it 4-2. Spartans’ second baseman Jessica Giacoma, roped a single down the left field line, scoring Jillian Figueroa.
The Rams wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Goard’s control started going off the rails at the bottom of the sixth. She allowed a flurry of hits and walks to the Rams thus, giving up the lead. Goard couldn’t record an out and was pulled for Jenessa Ullegue.
Her task was simple but much easier said than done: limit the damage.
Ullegue came into the game with the Spartans down 5-4, with no outs. She did as well as she possibly could. She retired all three batters she faced, while letting a sac fly score one more for the Rams. The Spartans entered the seventh inning down 6-4. This was their last chance.
The Spartans scratched and clawed their way through the seventh.
The rally was in full effect. Three straight singles scored one for SJSU. Back-to-back fly outs slowed down the Spartans’ momentum but not before tying the game. SJSU went into the bottom of the seventh tied at 6, hoping to go to extras.
To start the bottom of the seventh, the Rams smoked a double in the gap. The winning run was standing on second base. Ullegue’s confidence wasn’t fazed as she retired the next two batters. The last batter that stood across Ullegue was Rams’ Ashley York. A tough battle ensued between the two, but York got the better of Ullegue. York poked a blooper up the middle for the walk-off win. The Rams weren’t fans of extra innings.
The Spartans will look to avoid the sweep against the Rams on Sunday at 11 a.m.