By Madyson Montoya — Staff Writer
San Jose State softball (5-5) will host its first tournament on its new field as five different teams come to play in the Silicon Valley Classic I.
The Spartans will start on Friday with a doubleheader against Ball State University (7-4) and the University of Northern Colorado (1-8).
Ball State is a tough competitor as they have more wins this early in the season. Among the .174 team batting average, Stacy Payton leads the starters at .267.
The sophomore infielder posts a team-high 8 hits and second-best 7 RBIs.
Since the Cardinals will play the first morning game against the Bears, SJSU has the advantage of coming into the game fresh.
One thing that SJSU will have to keep in mind during this first game is Ball State’s pitching. Two pitchers managed to get 15 strikeouts in the team’s last win.
In the back end of the doubleheader, the Spartans will face Northern Colorado. The UNC pitching staff combines for 7.69 ERA, so SJSU will seek to apply the pressure.
Saturday should be much easier for the Spartans as they only have one game with a familiar opponent.
The Spartans beat the University of Montana (1-9) 6-5 in the Troy Cox Classic in New Mexico. The familiarity and playing on the home turf should come in handy this time around.
To conclude the tournament, SJSU will face its first California opponent in CSU Bakersfield (4-3). As a team, the Roadrunners combine for a .267 BA.
Junior infielder Cydney Curran leads the way in BA (.381), hits (8) and slugging percentage (.524)
The biggest thing the Spartans have been struggling with is the doubleheaders. If they take both games Friday, they have a good chance of going 4-0 in the tournament.
The first game will start at 11:30 a.m.
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