By Zoë Woodward – Spear Reporter | Freshman Sophia Burdick preparing to bat for the Spartans against the Redbirds. Photo by Zoë Woodward.
San Jose State softball (1-6) were defeated 2-1 by Illinois State (4-4) in its second loss of the day in the Silicon Valley Classic Competition.
After seeing UC Santa Barbara off earlier in the afternoon winning 6-5, Illinois State had come to the Spartan Complex wanting to win both games.
The only hope of a turning point and stopping the Redbirds successful run, came for SJSU at the bottom of the fourth inning.
This was when Illinois State’s junior pitcher Hannah Meeks missed a catch at first base to allow senior infielder Ahmiya Noreiga to get home and score the Spartans’ first run of the game after freshman infielder Samantha Blachly hit deep into the right field.
Illinois State were the dominant side after the first two innings as the visitors had scored two runs to the Spartans nothing. On both offence and defence, they were the stronger team.
“I think just the controllable things, such as the energy and having each other’s backs during the game,” senior utility Shay McDowell said. “That’s our identity, being energetic. I think just capitalising on that will set us up for success for the rest of the year.”
In an attempt to reignite the home side’s hopes of a late comeback, sophomore utility Taylor Chillingworth, made an impressive catch at the top of the fifth inning to quickly end the visitors’ attempt at securing more runs.
The Spartans weren’t going down without a fight and continued to try a way to score runs right up until the end of the game. At the bottom of the fifth inning, senior infielder Reina Zermeno was able to steal a base but didn’t make it home in time.
Neither team was able to score any runs in the final three innings concluding the matchup.
“They have to find a way to come back with a bit more hunger…and stick together as a team,” SJSU head coach Tammy Lohmann said.
Looking ahead to the rest of its competition at home, SJSU play two games on Saturday starting at 2:30pm at the Spartan Softball Complex. Their first game is a rematch with the Redbirds and its second game is against Utah.
“We have got to be able to take care of business in our field,” Lohmann said. “It’s a team sport and they all collectively have to find a way to step up in every element of the game. I wish it was tomorrow already to be honest. I’m ready for it.”
