By Abel Tariku (@AT_TheSpear) – Spear Reporter
There was a lot of emotion and close calls as San Jose State softball (11-12) beat Princeton (3-7) in comeback fashion in the first game of Sunday’s double header.
The Spartans were down as much as 4-0 at the top of the fifth inning. However at the bottom of the fifth, the Spartans would light up the offense as senior Aubrie Thomas would score a run and junior infielder Reina Zermeno would get a two-run home run to make it 4-3.
“I’m just really competitive,” Zermeno said. “I just tell myself that I’m better than the pitcher.”
Not long after the home run, Princeton’s senior catcher Lauren Pappert would suffer a scary injury that would require her to be stretched out of the game. The game would be delayed for 48 minutes.
“Reminding [the team] things like that can happen in a blink of an eye,” head coach Tammy Lohmann said. “You got to be blessed with the fact that you get that opportunity to play.”
The game would go to eight innings as junior infielder Ahmiya Noriega would tie the score in the bottom of the seventh making it 4-4.
The Tigers would score two runs at the top of the eighth making it 6-4 but the Spartans would strike right back as freshman infielder Gigi Ortega and sophomore outfielder Haley Reeve would score to tie the game and Zermeno would score one more time to get a tough back-and-forth victory.
“We can come back no matter the score,” senior pitcher Mia Reynolds said. “Our energy can really affect the momentum of the game.”
Game Two
SJSU Softball flames out in final game of the Silicon Valley Classic
By Abel Tariku (@AT_TheSpear) – Spear Reporter
San Jose State softball (11-13) suffered a crushing 7-2 defeat against Princeton (4-7) in the second game of Sunday’s double header.
The Spartan’s offense struggled this game as they did not score a single run until the sixth inning as junior infielder Ahmiya Noriega and junior infielder Reina Zermeno would both score a run. By then, the Tigers had already scored seven runs.
The Spartans energy was alive throughout the entire game despite being down the entire game.
“You just have to have energy,” Zermeno said. “You have to have fight.”
The dugout was loud throughout the entire game bringing the energy and belief that they could possibly come back.
“They definitely came out and fought,” head coach Tammy Lohmann said. I hope this gets them a reminder that we have to compete.
