May 7, 2008

Box Score

HONOLULU - Seventh-seeded Utah State dropped an 8-2 contest to sixth-seeded San Jose State in the first game of the 2008 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament here Wednesday at a warm and breezy Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium.

The Aggies fall to 14-33 overall, while the Spartans improve to 26-33 on the season. It is the second time in as many years that Utah State has fallen to San Jose State in the WAC Tournament.

San Jose State pitcher Deanna Mauer took down USU's first three batters in the top of the first, and the Spartans then pushed across the first score of the game in the bottom of the inning before adding another run in the bottom of the third to take an early 2-0 lead.

Utah State scored in the top of the fourth for its first score of the game as freshman shortstop Kelley Kaneshiro walked with two outs and senior catcher Heather Haak later hit an RBI single to short to bring in Kaneshiro.

In the fourth inning, Spartan center fielder Sarah Taylor smacked a triple to right center, scoring pinch runner Alyssa Sulay and second baseman Kasey Igarta who singled to extend San Jose State's lead to 4-1.

SJSU catcher Brittany McConnell then hit a grand slam over the left field fence to extend its lead to 8-1 in the bottom of the sixth.

Utah State scored its final run in the top of the seventh as sophomore center fielder Emily Reilly advanced home on throw after hitting a double earlier in the inning.

USU junior pitcher Lindsey Benson took the loss and falls to 13-22 on the year, as she struck out one in two innings and sophomore pitcher Stacey Ellingsworth tallied three K's in four innings. Mauer improves to 13-15 on the season, yielding six hits and recording four strikeouts.

Utah State was led by Haak's effort at the plate going two-for-three with an RBI, while Reilly was two-for-four on the day.

The Aggies will face the loser of the second-seed and 10th-ranked Fresno State and fifth-seed New Mexico State in a loser-out contest on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. (MT).