By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa)
San Jose State softball swept day one of the Louisville Slugger Invitational and extended its win streak to five games.
The Spartans (14-7) went 2-0 in Thursday’s doubleheader with a 5-3 win over the Boston University Terriers and 15-6 win over the Cal State Fullerton Titans.
In the team’s first game against BU, both teams headed to extra innings knotted up at three.
The Spartans’ offense scored two runs in the top of the 10th to break the 3-3 tie.
Sophomore second baseman Cassidy Clark’s sacrifice fly allowed SJSU to score its first run since the fifth inning.
A deep RBI double from sophomore first baseman Georgia Blair brought sophomore right fielder Kaelin Amrein home for a crucial insurance run and extended the lead to two.
SJSU held on to win 5-3, with Bowman getting her eighth win on the year as she tossed 4.2 scoreless innings in relief.
Seniors center fielder Brittany Abacherli and third baseman Emma Entzminger, alongside Blair and Amrein highlighted the offense with two hits and one RBI each.
SJSU looked to keep the energy alive heading into an important matchup against the Titans (9-10) for its second game of the day.
The Spartans had a solid 6-2 lead after four innings, but the Titans didn’t count themselves out. The team tied the game for a second time with four runs in two innings.
Valenzuela and Hill both had RBI singles in the fourth, with another RBI hit from sophomore second baseman Emily Randall and a wild pitch scored the last two runs in the fifth.
The Spartans needed a response of their own and that’s what they got. The offense erupted for nine runs, with six of them via the long ball.
Amrein led off the sixth with a solo homer to break the tie. Sophomore right fielder Makayla Englestad scored Blair and junior pitcher Madison Aurin from a 2-RBI double to extend their lead, 9-6.
Freshman third baseman Desiree Reyes followed with an RBI double of her own to make it 10-6. Abacherli broke the game wide open with a two-run homer and made it 12-6.
Aurin joined in on the fun with a three-run homer to give the Spartans an impressive 15-6 lead.
The Spartans’ defense shut down the Titans in the bottom half and went to win 15-6 in six innings. Aurin got her fourth win on the year in relief.
The No. 3 UCLA Bruins and the No. 20 Long Beach State 49ers are on deck for SJSU in tomorrow’s doubleheader. First pitches are at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
