LATE COMEBACK FALL SHORT AS SOFTBALL’S WINNING STREAK IS SNAPPED BY SAN JOSE STATE

2/22/2012

Senior Alyssa Nakken collected two more hits today and is now batting .333 this season

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Sacramento State scored three times in the seventh inning, and had the tying run on third, but San Jose State starter Amanda Pridmore struck out freshman Kaitlyn Taylor to give the Spartans a 5-4 victory in a non-conference softball game Wednesday afternoon at SJSU Field.

Entering the seventh inning, the Hornets trailed, 5-1 and had just three hits the entire game. However, Sacramento State received singles from three of the first four batters of the inning. A bases-loaded walk to Marissa Navarro narrowed the gap to 5-2, and Pridmore was replaced by reliever Jennifer Ames.

A fielders choice off the bat of Paige Martin would score Shannon Kaufman to draw the Hornets within, 5-3, with two outs in the inning. Alyssa Nakken then followed with an RBI-single scoring McCormick, and the Hornets found themselves down just one run (5-4) with runners at first and second base.

A single to left field by Riley Price loaded the bases, and, in a move that is rarely seen in softball, Pridmore was re-inserted into the game in favor of Ames. Pridmore then struck out Taylor on a 2-2 pitch to notch her sixth strikeout of the contest.

With the loss, Sacramento State, which was playing for the first time in 10 days, had its four-game winning snapped. The Hornets (4-2) will return to action later this week in Moraga when the team competes in the three-day, four-game PCSC Crossover Tournament (Feb. 24-26). The Hornets begin the tournament on Friday with games against Seattle (12:30 p.m.) and Northern Colorado (2:30 p.m.).

San Jose State (4-7), which was playing its home opener, won its third straight game.

Things started well for the Hornets as Devin Caldwell and Shannon Kaufman led off the game with singles. Caldwell would come around to score later in the inning on a Spartan error, giving the Hornets a 1-0 lead. However, San Jose State responded by scoring once in the first inning, three times in the second and once more in the fourth.

The Spartans took advantage of control issues by Hornet freshman Caitlin Brooks. The right-hander, who entered the game with a 1.45 ERA, lasted just 1.1 innings while allowing two hits, four runs (two earned), three walks and one hit-batter. Brooks went to three-ball counts on seven of the 10 batters she faced, and an illegal pitch allowed the first Spartan run to score.

Brooks (1-2) was pulled with the bass loaded and one out in the top of the second inning in favor of reliever Taylor Stroud. San Jose State would eventually score three times in the inning, benefitting from a Michelle Cox RBI-single and a Hornet error allowing two runs to score. That error was the first of the season for Sacramento State.

The Hornets stranded 10 runners on base, including at least one runner in every inning by the fifth. Stroud was impressive in relief, allowing just two hits and one run in 4.2 innings. Kaufman (2-for-4 with a run) and Nakken (2-for-3 with an RBI) both had multiple-hit games for the Hornets.

Pridmore (3-4) got the win, allowing four runs (three earned) and six hits over 6.2 innings. A solo home run by Vanessa House to lead off the fourth inning for San Jose State proved to be the game-winning hit.