By @sarabielaa
A pair of grand slams from Brittany Abacherli and Desiree Reyes aided San Jose State softball in a powerful 20-4 victory over Colorado State at Ram Field.
The Spartans’ (26-14, 10-5 MW) offense erupted for a season-high 16 hits and plated 19 of its 20 runs in the final three innings.
The 20 runs in a game sets a new SJSU record for most runs in a single game, topping the 17 runs plated on May 6 2016 against Boise State.
In the first, junior starting pitcher Madison Aurin gave SJSU a 1-0 lead with an RBI single to center.
Left fielder Reyes extended the lead to five with a grand slam in the third inning. The home run was the freshman’s first in a Spartans uniform.
Coming into the game, the Rams (23-13, 7-6 MW) had a conference-leading 2.81 ERA. Junior starting pitcher Bridgette Hutton exited in the third after allowing five runs in 2.1 innings pitched.
The pitching change had no impact on the Spartans as sophomore first baseman Georgia Blair followed with a solo homer and made it 6-0 after three frames.
SJSU didn’t stop there as it exploded with eight more runs in the fourth.
After a fielding error from CSU’s sophomore third baseman Corina Gamboa made it 8-0, Blair increased the lead to double-digits with an RBI single that scored two runs.
Senior center fielder Abacherli continued the pounding and made it 14-0 with SJSU’s second grand slam of the game.
The Spartan offense refused to slow down as it tacked on six more runs in the fifth inning. Hits from five different Spartans made it 20-0.
In the bottom half of the frame, the Rams got on the board with a solo homer from junior left fielder Danni Klein. The team went on to add three more runs, but the damage was already done.
The Spartans went on to win 20-4 in five innings, ending their four-game losing streak.
Aurin (12-10) held the Rams scoreless until the fifth inning in her complete game. Abacherli led the offense with six RBIs.
SJSU looks clinch the series against CSU tomorrow morning. First pitch for Game 2 at 11 a.m.