By Jose Garcia (@JoseDGarcia__) — Reporter
San Jose State softball faced Nevada on Friday for its penultimate game of the regular season. The Spartans won a slugfest in dramatic fashion, 9-8.
After dropping the first game of the series against the Aggies on Thursday, the Spartans were eager to bounce back in game two.
On a Friday the 13th edition of softball, things started off spooky for San Jose State.
Caroline Bowman was on the bump for the Spartans, tasked with taking down a conference opponent. In the first inning, Utah State’s leadoff hitter singled to begin the game. Shortly thereafter, the Aggies got on the board with a two-run home run.
The Spartans had dug themselves into a hole early.
Power hitter Karizma Bergesen did what she does best in the third inning, sending one over the fence for a solo shot. The deficit was cut to one run, but not for long.
Utah State answered with three runs of its own, all coming on a three-run home run.
San Jose State’s offense exploded in the subsequent inning, putting up a crooked number. The Spartans knocked in a total of seven runs in the fourth inning, via a medley of hits including a double and a two-run homer by Jenessa Ullegue.
The Spartans led 8-5 after four innings of high powered offense by both squads.
The Aggies managed to chip away at San Jose State’s lead in the fifth and sixth innings, knotting the game at eight.
Neither team scored in the seventh, sending the game to extra innings.
In a back-and-forth battle, San Jose State had the first crack at scoring in the top of the eighth.
Jillian Figueroa worked a lead-off walk, getting on-base for her teammates to knock her in. A passed ball by the catcher then allowed Figueroa to advance to second base. After that, the Spartans played a little bit of small ball. A groundout got the runner over to third base, putting San Jose State 90 feet away from taking the lead. The Spartans took advantage of the passed ball and knocked in Figueroa on a sacrifice fly.
The Aggies found themselves down a run in the bottom of eighth and failed to score, losing in extras.
San Jose State softball will play its last game of the regular season on Saturday at 10 AM against Utah State.