By Chris Estrada (@estradadotc ):
San Jose State (21-10, 5-1 MW) split the doubleheader with Boise State, (19-10, 4-2 MW) winning the first game 13-7 but losing the second 10-2 in a shortened five inning game.
The loss ended an 11-game win streak against BSU dating back to 2014.
In game 1, senior shortstop Emma Entzminger got things started with a leadoff triple and was then driven in with a sac-fly from Kaelin Amrein. BSU answered back in the bottom of the first with a HR from junior shortstop Rebekah Cervantes.
The Spartans broke the game open with eight runs between innings three and five.
In the third, sophomore Georgia Blair hit a 2-run double putting SJSU on top 3-1. Brittany Abacherli followed with an RBI single of her own pushing the lead to 4-1.
In the very next inning the offense was busy again scoring two runs with an Abacherli single and a bases loaded walk to freshman Desiree Reyes extending the lead.
Entzminger was hit by pitch to open up the fifth. She would later be brought home by a 2-run HR by sophomore Cassidy Clark, her fourth of the year.
The Spartans piled on four more runs in the seventh opening their lead to 13-3. Abacherli hit 3-run HR giving her five RBI’s for the game. Junior Madison Aurin followed with her team leading ninth home run of the season.
The Broncos did not go down without a fight, getting four runs and five hits against Aurin in the final inning.
Freshman Caroline Bowman got the win improving to 11-0 on the season. She allowed three runs and five hits in four innings of work. Aurin pitched the final three innings allowing four runs and seven hits.
Both teams combined for 20 runs and 26 hits.
After the batting practice-like game of game one, game two had the traditional pitchers duel. At least, until the fifth inning.
SJSU was only able to get two runs and two hits coming from an Amrein HR in the second inning and an Aurin RBI single in the fifth.
Sophomore Desiree Severance pitched into the fifth only allowing two runs. With the game tied, head coach Peter Turner decided to pull Severance and bring in Bowman to stop BSU’s rally.
The familiarity of the Bronco’s having just seen Bowman in the first game came to backfire on the Spartans.
Bowman only got two outs and gave up five straight hits including a 2-run RBI single to Cervantes giving the Broncos a 3-2 and their first lead of the series.
A key error by Entzminger did not help Bowman’s cause extending the inning and caused the final five runs scored to be unearned.
After getting her 11th win on the season, Bowman also got her first loss on the same day.
Game 2 marked the first conference loss of the season for the Spartans but they leave with a one game lead in the standings.
SJSU takes on UNLV next for a three-game series beginning Thursday, March 29th.