March 22, 2008
FULLERTON, Calif. - The No. 22/25 San Diego State softball team rounded out its play in the Judy Garman Classic with a 2-0 victory over Illinois Saturday morning in Fullerton, Calif. With the win, the Aztecs improved to 27-10, while the Illini dropped to 14-16.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning when SDSU took advantage of an Illini miscue. Junior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior Erin Floros (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS). McCorkle then moved to third on a groundout by sophomore Lindsey Marquez (Tustin, Calif.) and scored when the Illinois pitcher was unable to handle a grounder by senior Megan McDonald (Glendale, Ariz.).
In the sixth, McCorkle got things going once again for the Aztecs by doubling to left-center field. Like earlier in the game, she moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Floros. Marquez then lofted a ball to left field to score McCorkle with the team's final run of the game.
The two runs was plenty for the combination of freshman Samantha Beasley (San Diego, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) and senior Christina Ross (Santa Clarita, Calif.). Beasley got the start and tossed two scoreless innings. She allowed four hits and a walk while striking out two. Ross (16-8) earned the win after pitching five innings of scoreless ball. She struck out seven with a walk, while surrendering three hits.
McCorkle and sophomore Brittany Knudsen (San Diego, Calif./Escondido HS) led the offense with two hits apiece.