By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa):
The red-hot offense was nowhere to be found as San Jose State softball dropped the first game of the series to rival Fresno State, 4-0.
The Bulldogs (25-15, 8-2 MW) freshman starting pitcher Danielle East held the Spartans (25-12, 9-3 MW) to two hits in her complete-game shutout.
“Our approach was extremely passive,” said head coach Peter Turner. “That started taking place in the first inning and it did not stop. We didn’t adjust very well at all.”
The Bulldogs jumped on the Spartans early in the first inning. Senior designated hitter Savannah McHellon singled through the left side and scored sophomore second baseman Miranda Rohleder.
Through three frames, East kept SJSU quiet with only one hit and seven strikeouts.
After a leadoff walk to sophomore first baseman Georgia Blair in the fourth, junior starting pitcher Madison Aurin made some noise with a double down the right-field line.
With bases loaded and two outs, East ended the threat to keep her team’s 1-0 lead in tack.
“I think we were having passive approaches at the plate and letting too many strikes go by,” Aurin said. “That put us in a hole we really couldn’t get out of.”
Three more runs came for FSU in the fifth frame. Junior center fielder Vanessa Hernandez sent a bullet to the fence for a two-run double.
A few batters later, the ninth-place hitter, junior left fielder Kaitlyn Jennings made it 4-0 Bulldogs with an RBI single.
Freshman pitcher Caroline Bowman came in relief for Aurin in the sixth and tossed two scoreless innings, with only a pair of hits allowed.
With the Spartan offense not finding any rhythm, the Bulldogs went on to win by the same score.. East fanned 11 through seven innings of work.
“She was pounding the outside corner and since she’s a lefty, her curve was going away from right-handed batters,” said sophomore second baseman Cassidy Clark. “We fell behind too many times and we need to be more aggressive tomorrow.”
The rivalry series continues Saturday at Mission College. First pitch set for noon.