By Matthew Meyer (@mattmeyersjsu) – Spear Reporter | Freshman utilitywoman Delaney Faus about to deliver a pitch (Photo by Matthew Meyer – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State softball (5-11, 0-0 MWC) came through in extra innings against Sacramento State (14-3, 0-0 BSC) to win 2-0 in its first game at the Capital Classic on Friday.
The Spartans win against the Hornets is their first in three years, last winning against them in 2023.
Junior outfielder Carly Cummings came through in the eighth inning with a one-out triple that scored sophomore utilitywoman Taylor Chillingworth, who started the inning on second base.
The Spartans added onto their lead the very next at-bat when senior infielder and utilitywoman Reina Zermeno drove in Cummings with an RBI single.
Freshman utilitywoman Delaney Faus took the mound for the Spartans and was lights out, going all eight innings and only allowing four hits.
“Delaney just did a phenomenal job on the mound today,” SJSU head coach Tammy Lohmann said in a postgame statement on the SJSU athletics website. “Just came out competitive, kept their hitters off balance and the defense played solid behind her.”
Faus’ performance earned her the win and improved her record to 2-5 for the season with a 4.56 ERA.
The SJSU defense held on throughout the game, especially in the bottom of the seventh when the Hornets had the winning run on third base with only one out.
Two groundouts to Chillingworth at third base prevented any runs from scoring, putting the Spartans in control to win the game the very next inning.
Sophomore catcher Sarah Deplitch also contributed to the win, throwing out Hornet sophomore outfielder Addy Buckley when she tried to steal second base in the third inning.
The Spartans will take on Sacred Heart University at 12:30 pm on Saturday at Shea Stadium in Sacramento for their second game of the Capital Classic.
