By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa)
Bats erupted for eight runs on 12 hits in San Jose State softball’s 8-2 series-sweeping win against UNLV.
The Spartans (24-10, 8-1 MW) outscored the Lady Rebels (20-13, 3-6 MW) 18-5 to complete their second Mountain West series sweep.
“I thought our top end of the lineup did a really nice job. We got key hits all the way down until eighth in the order,” said head coach Peter Turner. “We did an excellent job of not leaving people on base, and that’s why we had so much production.”
UNLV’s lone lead in the entire series came in the first inning Saturday when it scored its only two runs of the game.
A pass ball plated sophomore right fielder Reina Bondi, while senior pitcher Janine Petmecky’s RBI groundout gave the Lady Rebels a 2-0 lead after one frame.
The first offensive explosion for the Spartans took place in the second inning.
Senior center fielder Brittany Abacherli started the scoring with a solo homer to cut the deficit to one run.
Rayohna Sagapolu gave SJSU a 3-2 lead with a two-run double to left field.
The freshman third baseman earned her fourth and fifth RBIs of the year.
Later in the inning, sophomore left fielder Kaelin Amrein drove in two more runs on a double to left center to give the Spartans a 6-2 lead after two innings.
“It felt good, I kinda knew what they were going to throw me,” Amrein said. “It was just trusting Chase [Turner] with calling pitches and going with what I saw.”
SJSU continued its raging offense in the fourth. Abacherli recorded her second RBI on the day with a one-run single, making it 7-2.
Within minutes, junior pitcher Madison Aurin followed with an RBI double and extended the lead to six.
The Spartans secured the sweep over the Rebels and have won nine of 10.
Abacherli led the offense with three hits and two RBIs. Aurin held UNLV to four hits and tossed her second complete game in three days.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today, but enough of it was working to get them to ground out,” said Aurin on her performance in the circle. “The offense today made me confident as a pitcher to know they backed me up when I’m not having the best day.”
SJSU takes the road to continue its MW dominance with a three-game series against the Nevada Wolf Pack (16-16, 5-4 MW) next week.