By Andrew Hartley (@andrewhart1ey) – Spear Reporter
Sophomore Reina Zermeno stretching before entering the batter’s box to take an at bat. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
In the first inning, both San Jose State (14-26) and UNLV (28-15) had situations with the bases loaded and two outs. The Rebels would drive in four runs with three of them scoring after reaching base via walk. SJSU would score two runs but Aneesa Almaguer would strike out to end the inning.
This would be the only strikeout the Spartans had the entire night. Implying a good offensive performance for what is statistically the worst offensive team in the Mountain West conference.
Yes contact was being made. But finding UNLV’s gloves all over the field; ultimately resulting in a 7-5 loss.
“We had some great shots but they just made some great plays, we just have to wait for them to fall,” SJSU head coach Tammy Lohmann said.
San Jose State actually outhit UNLV, the team with the third-highest batting average in the conference, nine to seven. Including Friday’s game, San Jose State has only outhit its opponent four times in its last 20 games.
“Everyone was just being aggressive, we knew they got some hitters so we had to be aggressive,” Reina Zermeno said.
What amplified the UNLV’s hits were the free passes given attached to them.
Spartan pitching issued seven walks, four from Lacie Ham who started the game but didn’t make it out of the first inning. Mia Reynolds came in for relief only allowing four runs over 6 ⅓ innings.
Zermeno continued her scorching season going 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. The sophomore continues to be the bright spot in the lineup pushing for an all-conference nomination.
While they managed to score five runs, they weren’t consistent. The two previously mentioned in the first and then a final-inning rally producing three.
“It’s going to be consistency (thing) across the board,” Lohmann said as to what would help break a now three-game losing streak.
They’re also on a 10-game losing streak against Mountain West opponents. SJSU will look to break this skid in game two of a three-game series against UNLV Saturday at 3 p.m. at Spartan Softball Stadium.