San José State Softball opened its season this past weekend at the Stanford Invitational tournament Friday, playing two games, losing their first game against Oklahoma State University 9-0 and falling 7-3 in their second game of the tournament against No. 17 Stanford University.
The Spartans began the second game with strong energy and momentum.
Senior first baseman Shay McDowell opened the scoring with an RBI single in the first inning, giving the Spartans an early lead.
McDowell said there was no pressure heading into the matchup.
“Definitely happy with my performance today,” McDowell said. “I had the goal of just coming out loose last opening day, really no pressure against these teams. We’re kind of the underdog, which kinda takes pressure off of us, which is nice.”
The Cardinal quickly responded with a two-run home run to right field by senior outfielder Kyra Chan, taking a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second inning.
Sophomore catcher Sarah Deplitch hit an RBI double in the top of the third to give the Spartans back the lead at 3-2.
The game remained defensive through the early innings.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Spartans committed an error in left field that allowed an RBI, giving the Cardinal a 4-3 lead.
SJSU Head Coach Tammy Lohmann said Stanford brought more energy.
“They found a way to get a little bit more energy on their side,” Lohmann said.
Stanford’s defense stood out in the sixth inning, making it difficult for the Spartans to find a rhythm at the plate.
The Cardinal extended their advantage in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single, followed by a two-run home run from senior infielder Taryn Kern to seal the 7-3 win.
Both teams recorded a similar number of hits, with the Spartans tallying eight and the Cardinal nine.
Stanford’s pitchers won the battle, striking out the Spartans nine times.
Spartan pitchers struck out Stanford just once.
Lohmann said that coming out and being competitive was what she and the team talked about before going into the game.
“The comeback from losing the first game and coming back from the break and coming back and being really competitive tonight, that’s what we talked about, coming out and competing every day and coming out playing a great quality team and being competitive tonight,” Lohmann said.
Senior second baseman Reina Zermeno helped keep the Spartans in the game early, finishing with two hits and one run scored in three at-bats.
Despite the loss, Zermeno said the team showed improvement.
“The energy and the fight coming from our first game was tough and I think we definitely re-collected ourselves and it looked a lot better,” Zermeno said. “We had some good fights.”
Through the weekend, the Spartans faced Oklahoma State University, University of California, Berkeley and Stanford, going 1-4 in the tournament.
SJSU will look to bounce back at 12 p.m. Friday against the University of California, Santa Barbara at the Spartan Softball Stadium to open game one of eight of the Silicon Valley Classic I.
