How It Happened
Rhode Island suffered another tough loss to close out play at the Silicon Valley Classic II, falling to San Jose State 5-4 on a walk-off home run by Adrianna Noriega.
 
It was the sixth straight loss for the Rams (2-13). Of the six losses in the streak, four have been one-run defeats and one more was a two-run contest.

Rhode Island jumped out early, as Casey Miller started the game with a single through the left side. Hannah Hernandez followed with a walk, and both runners moved to scoring position when Rachel Zingerman dropped a sacrifice bunt. Kylie Bulinski brought Miller in with a sacrifice fly, and Elena Gonzalez delivered an RBI single to drive in Hernandez and make the score 2-0.

The Rams handed the lead back before the first inning was over. San Jose State (9-14) took advantage of wild pitching from the Rams, scoring three runs on four hits, a throwing error, two walks, a passed ball and two wild pitches. The Spartans batted around, sending nine batters to the plate in the rally.  

The Rams pulled even with single runs in the fourth and fifth inning. In the fourth, Jessica Hennelly singled up the middle and moved up on a groundout. With two down, Miller singled to shortstop, and Hennelly scored on the play. An inning later, Gonzalez reached on an infield single, advanced to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on a groundout. Vicki Viaclovsky singled down the left field line to drive her in and make it a 4-4 game.

Neither team scored again until Noreiga's shot to lead off the bottom of the seventh.

Inside the Box Score

• Sophomore Katie Zaun (0-5) was solid despite taking the loss. She limited San Jose State to two runs on six hits over 5.1 innings of relief.
• Over her last three appearances, Zaun has allowed just four runs over 10.1 innings, dropping her earned run average from 7.41 to 5.63 in the process.
•  Graduate student Elena Gonzalez singled three times, scored once, drove in one run and stole a base.
• Junior Vicki Viaclovski singled and drove in one run.
• Freshman Casey Miller singled twice, scored one run and drove in one. She leads the team with 16 hits through the first 15 games.
• Senior Jessica Hennelly singled and scored a run.
• Freshman Hannah Hernandez walked twice and scored once.
• Rhode Island's lineup drew four walks while striking out just once.

What's Next
Rhode Island visits Santa Clara Monday for a doubleheader. Games will be at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. EST. The games were initially scheduled for March 14, but they were moved up a day due to expected inclement weather.