FEB 16 – San José State softball returned home on Friday to begin yet another non-conference tournament. The Spartans looked to put themselves in the win column as soon as possible after dropping all 5 of their contests in the NorCal Kickoff. This weekend, it would be the Spartans hosting the Silicon Valley Classic in conjunction with Santa Clara University. The other four programs joining the tournament were Cal Poly, Colorado State, UC San Diego, and the University of Illinois – Chicago.
The Spartans’ softball team jumped into the action on Valentine’s Day, hosting UIC and UCSD. That afternoon, love wasn’t the only thing in the air. There were softballs aplenty being slammed into the outfield in a flurry of offensive explosions for the Spartans. Having just crossed the plate twice in the last four games, such output was overdue. Across these two contests, San José State put up 16 runs and 21 hits.
In their first game against UIC, every starter in the lineup got a piece of the action, having at least one hit. But the star among them was Shay McDowell, who went 2-4 with a HR, a triple, and 5 RBIs, the latter being a new career-high. Haley Reeve tied her career-high hits, going 3-4 with two singles. Additionally, Mia Reynolds pitched a complete game, allowing just 1 earned run on 4 hits to give the Spartans their first victory of the season, 9-2.
Lacie Ham decided to return the favor in their second match of the day against UCSD. Ham pitched a complete game shut-out, notching 9 strikeouts and allowing just 4 hits and 2 walks. Both the complete game and the shutout are the first for Ham since April of last year. On the offensive side, Reina Zermeno continued to see the ball well at the plate. Zermeno finished 3-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs, as well as being a triple shy from achieving the cycle. Ahmiya Noriega also got 2 RBIs of her own, courtesy of a double in the bottom of the first. A 7-0 win wrapped up the first day of action for San José State.
Saturday’s action was more of the same. This time, the Spartans would play the same opponent in their two contests: Cal Poly. The Spartan’s offensive pace continued, combining for 12 runs and 17 hits across both games. In the first contest against the Mustangs, it was Zermeno who continued her offensive showing at the tournament, going 2-4 with 3 RBIs. Mia Reynolds notched her second win of the season off virtually no rest, going 6.0 innings with 4 strikeouts and just 2 hits. Ava Conti closed the game out in the 7th, but didn’t earn the save because there was no save situation; the Spartans closed out the first of two with a 6-0 win.
Game 2 was a bit more interesting for the Spartans, as both offenses were dealing blows back and forth. After San José State scored two in the first, the Mustangs took the lead back with a 3-run third. Unfortunately for Cal Poly, SJSU responded in the bottom of the 4th with three runs of their own, ultimately leading to the final score of 6-4. Both teams combined for 23 hits. Noriega went a perfect 3-3 at the plate, including a triple. Noriega has now hit for a triple in three consecutive games; this is also the first time Noriega has gone 3-3 in her career. Sarah Deplitch also tallied a 3-3 performance, which sets her career high in hits. On the mound, it was Conti who was credited with the win, and Reynolds with the save. This marks the first save of her collegiate career.
Sunday only had one game in store for the Spartans, who set out to take on UCSD for the second time this tournament. The offense continued to cause mayhem for the Tritons, scoring 8 runs on 9 hits. Fresh off an excellent performance at the plate Saturday night, Deplitch added a 2-run HR to her tournament resume. Aneesa Almaguer started a 5-run 3rd inning with a two-run double. Jules Ronquillo followed up with a 2-run single, finishing the night 2-2. In her first career start, Taylor Peacock got her first win of the season after allowing just 1 ER and 1 BB through 4.2 IP.
And so, the Silicon Valley Classic wraps up a successful showing for San José State. 5 straight wins and 36 combined runs even out the record at 5-5. This marks the second time in a row SJSU has swept the SVC. The Spartans will head to Cathedral City in southern California to play their first game of their third tournament this season. San José State’s first opponent of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic will be CSU Northridge, and they’ll play Friday, February 21st at 5:30 PM.
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