By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa ):
After a tough loss to the No. 3 UCLA Bruins, San Jose State softball combined for 12 hits and earned its first win against a ranked opponent in the No. 21 Long Beach State 49ers to split Friday’s doubleheader.
The Spartans (15-8) are now 3-1 in the Louisville Slugger Invitational after a 10-run loss to UCLA (21-0) and a 7-3 win over the Long Beach State (18-6).
It was a morning to forget in LA as the Bruins (21-0) exploded for 10 runs, with nine coming in the fourth inning.
Sophomore Bubba Nickles started the scoring with a three-run homer in the inning. The center fielder scored sophomores pitcher Rachel Garcia and pinch-runner Jenna Crawford.
The Bruins offense batted around and concluded the inning with a two-run homer from Garcia to make it 10-0 after four frames.
The Bruins went on to win in five innings. Garcia held the Spartans to one hit in her complete game shutout.
SJSU looked to change momentum against the 49ers.
Two batters into the game, sophomore designated hitter Kaelin Amrein got the Spartans on the board first with an RBI double, and later scored the second run from junior pitcher Madison Aurin’s RBI single.
In the second inning, LBSU tied the game at two with back-to-back RBI singles from senior second baseman Grayce Majam and junior shortstop Nichole Fry.
The Spartans responded with another two runs of their own in the top of third. Aurin’s RBI double and senior center fielder Brittany Abacherli’s RBI single made it 4-2 SJSU after three innings.
Holding a 5-3 lead after five innings, the Spartans seeked for more insurance runs.
After LBSU’s sophomore starting pitcher Devyn Magnett loaded the bases for SJSU, senior Jessica Flores came in relief and walked Aurin to score in the team’s sixth run.
Later in the inning, sophomore second baseman Cassidy Clark scored another run from freshman left fielder Desiree Reyes’ RBI single and made it 7-3 in favor of the Spartans.
The team held on to win 7-3 and handed the 49ers their sixth loss.
Aurin earned her fifth win on the year, while also contributing two hits and three RBIs. Freshman Caroline Bowman tossed 2.2 scoreless innings for her first career save.
The Spartans finish the tournament tomorrow against the No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1). First pitch is at 10 a.m.