By Daniel Reedy:
One day. Two games. 29 hits. 17 runs.
The San Jose State Spartans (32-15, 12-6 in MW) unloaded on host New Mexico (20-23, 6-12 in MW) for 10-1 and 7-2 victories on Sunday to complete a three-game sweep. The doubleheader resulted from a snow-out on Saturday following a come-from-behind Game 1 win for the Spartans. The morning game (Game 2) was a make-up for Saturday.
Game 2
Second baseman Cassidy Clark rocked a three-run homer in the first inning on her way to a 4-for-5 performance. The No. 3 hitter also hit two doubles and finished with two runs scored and four RBIs.
Fellow freshman middle infielder Georgia Blair also went 4 for 5, giving her the team lead in total bases.
First baseman Madison Aurin went 3 for 5 with a double, her team-leading 10th two-bagger of the year.
Outfielders Casey Watt and Chelsea Jenner both went 2 for 5 and were involved in two runs each.
Starter Katelyn Linford was spectacular, tossing seven innings and gave up just one — unearned — run. She only struck out one batter but is blamed for just six base runners in her 14th complete game of the season.
New Mexico right fielder Cheyenne Smith’s 2-for-4 hitting was one of very few bright spots for the Lobos.
Starter Jensen Main took the loss for New Mexico, giving up five runs in the first and was pulled before recording an out.
Game 3
The break between games wasn’t enough for New Mexico to recover as the Lobos were dominated for the second half of the double header.
The New Mexico hitters got 13 runners on base, but stranded 11 as Spartan starter Collette Riggs shut them down, allowing just two runs in her fourth complete game of the year.
San Jose State posted 10 hits, scoring seven — five of which came from two sixth-inning home runs.
Brittany Abacherli hit the the first, a three-run shot make the score 5-1 and three batters later, Emma Entzminger blasted a two-run homer to score Jenner.
Watt and Blair knocked in one run each.
Every Spartan batter reached base at least once as New Mexico’s staff struggled again.
The Lobos’ Smith went 2 for 4 for the second time on Sunday and was one of three New Mexico players with multiple hits. Both Shelbie Franc and Doris Smith also went 2 for 4. Franc and Smith each scored a run, but posted 0 RBIs, leaving a combined three runners on base.
Analysis
The Spartans offense has sputtered at times in 2017, but not this weekend, finishing with 24 runs in three games for three wins. SJSU went 40 for 100 in the series, scoring the most runs of any of the team’s three-game sets this season.
The explosive offense is the headline story of the weekend, but the Spartans’ pitching was again excellent — from the first inning of Game 1 on anyway. After conceding four runs in just a third of an inning on Friday, Linford bounced back with her nearly shutout performance Sunday morning, advancing her to 20-7.
Riggs relieved Linford in Game 1, throwing the other 6⅔ frames and finishing the weekend with two wins, improving her record to 9-3.
Strong pitching such as this and the volatile offense the Spartan lineup boasts are why the team has won five in a row and nine of the Spartans last 10.
The final home series for SJSU is on tap as the Spartans host first place Utah State for a battle of the top two teams in the conference.
First pitch is scheduled for noon on Friday at Mission College.