BOISE, Idaho – Coming in with four straight victories, the San Diego State softball team carried significant momentum into this weekend’s series against Boise State. However, that was not reflected in Thursday night’s game. The Aztecs were unable to get on the board while the Broncos scored in each of the first four innings before Leah McAnally hit a two-run walk-off home run in the sixth as SDSU fell 9-0.
San Diego State’s (27-15, 11-6) bats struggled against Boise State (29-15, 11-6) starter Olivia Bauer. The Broncos got singles from Sophia Knight and Mykenzie Hanna to open the bottom of the first inning. Knight came home to score on a groundout as Boise State got on the board first.
Cali Decker had the first hit for the Aztecs with a leadoff single in the second inning. She moved up to third on a pair of sacrifice bunts but was unable to cross the plate. Megan Lake led off with a single for the Broncos and moved into scoring position on a Quinn Southerland walk. An infield single with a throwing error allowed both runners to score while batter Chloe Hughes reached second base on the play. Knight followed with a single and stole second before Hanna was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Makenzie Butt hit a fly ball to the outfield that deflected off a glove for an RBI single before Grace Uribe induced an infield fly and a groundout to escape the jam.
Bella Espinoza reached on a single in the third but could not move into scoring position. Lake doubled to begin the third before Uribe struck out Hollie Farmer swinging for her first strikeout of the night. An infield single by Southerland put two runners on for Sydney Groves, who lined an RBI double to left center, ending Uribe’s day. Ava Schaffel entered the circle and, after a walk, struck out Hanna and got Butt to fly out to end the inning.
Decker reached again in the fourth on a walk, but a double play ended the inning. Brooklyn Pettis homered to begin the bottom of the inning for the Broncos. McAnally doubled and Lake walked to put two runners on. Hailey Vassalotti, running for McAnally, scored on a groundout to put Boise State up 7-0.
Uribe singled in the fifth inning but was erased on a double play. Schaffel worked around a two-out single by inducing a double play of her own in the bottom of the inning.
Espinoza had her second single of the day in the sixth but was unable to get any further. Pettis began the bottom of the inning with a single through the left side before McAnally launched a two-run walk-off home run to center field to end the game with a 9-0 score.
THE NOTE
San Diego State fell by a margin of more than five runs in a conference game for the first time since a 10-0 defeat in five innings against Fresno State on May 14, 2021.
UP NEXT
SDSU and Boise State will resume this series at the same time tomorrow. The series wraps up at noon MT/11 a.m. PT on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
Boise State 9, San Diego State 0
San Diego State (27-15, 11-6) 000 000 – 0 4 1
Boise State (29-15, 8-6) 131 202 – 9 14 0
W – Bauer, 7-2; L – Uribe, 7-1
HR: Pettis, BSU (12), McAnally, BSU (5)