Spartans lose series against Wolf Pack
Adam Murphy
Issue date: 5/4/09 Section: Sports
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The Spartans would get the better of the Nevada Wolf Pack for game two, as Alex Stange's RBI single up the middle prompted Nicole Wells to be sent home from second base, setting up a play at the plate that would decide more than just the winner.
Wells slid just as the ball reached the Nevada catcher, who never collected the ball cleanly to apply a tag, allowing Wells to score in a cloud of dust.
"I was just going to swing as hard as I could and put the ball somewhere in the outfield," Stange said. "I knew as soon as I hit it that it was a good, hard hit and when I saw it was going up the middle I knew she wasn't going to have a play."
The dust also cleared on top-seeded Nevada's standing in the Western Athletic Conference tournament. The loss dropped Nevada to second place for the tournament and denying them a first-round bye.
"Do I cherish the role of being a spoiler? No. I want us to be in their position next year," said Spartans' head coach Peter Turner. "I think the best team won. We put them in trouble more than they put us in trouble."
Starting pitcher Elyssa Fox threw 10 shutout innings for the Spartans in the first game, surrendering six hits.
Fox and Amanda Pridmore, pitcher of game one, both pitched complete games - a far cry from Friday night's performance that ended in a 17-0 loss to Nevada.
"Sure we had a bad game, but we bounced back," said captain Kelli Fangonilo. "We played great defense and had great pitching."
Pridmore threw 14 innings, giving up 11 hits and five earned runs in game one of the doubleheader, taking the loss and dropping her season record to 8-12.
"I didn't do the greatest on Friday, so coming out Saturday I kind of had to prove myself a little bit more," Pridmore said. "I was under a little more pressure than I normally would have been."
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