RUSTON, La. — Jessie Hufstetler’s single in the bottom of the seventh lifted top-seeded San Jose State to a 1-0 victory against No. 5-seed UTSA on Thursday in the third game of this weekend's Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament.
The Roadrunners (27-25) advanced to play sixth-seeded UT Arlington (24-27) in an elimination game in the evening, however, that contest was halted after six innings due to inclement weather and it will resume at 10 a.m. on Friday. The Mavericks scored a run in the first and another in the sixth and they will take a 2-0 lead in the top of the seventh. It is the fourth meeting in the last seven days between the two teams.
Meanwhile, the Spartans (40-15) advanced to Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal against either No. 2 New Mexico State or third-seeded Louisiana Tech.
Amanda Pridmore (27-9) limited the Birds to three hits and struck out six, while Haylee Staton (15-10) allowed just three knocks to go along with four punchouts in the hard-luck loss.
After six-and-a-half scoreless frames, San Jose State broke through in its half of the seventh to add to its school-record win total.
Markesha Collins was hit by a pitch to open the frame and she moved into scoring position on an errant toss by Staton. Hufstetler then lined Staton’s 2-2 pitch over left fielder Siera Sproul, which allowed Collins to trot home with the game-winning run.
Pridmore, who was named WAC Pitcher of the Year on Wednesday, retired nine consecutive batters at one point before Vivian Tijerina singled to start the sixth.
That provided UTSA with its best scoring opportunity, as Alexis Ramirez came in to run for Tijerina and moved up 60 feet following Paige Hamilton’s sacrifice bunt. However, Pridmore worked out of the jam with a ground out and a fly out.
The Roadrunners got a two-out single from Sproul in the seventh, but Pridmore closed the frame with a fly out to set up the game-winning rally.