May 14, 1999
ESNO, Calif. - The San Diego State University softball team put a scare into second-ranked Fresno State before succumbing 3-2 to the defending national champions tonight at the 1999 WAC Tournament. The loss eliminated the Aztecs ( 24-24) from the tourney while Fresno State (59-8) moves on to the tournament title game where it will face the winner of Utah-Hawaii.
Freshman Korin Gregory (Oakdale, Calif./Beyer HS) got the start for SDSU and pitched well even after taking a line drive off her left leg in the first inning. Gregory gave up three hits and one run in 2.2 innings of work before exiting the game due to tightness in her injured leg. The Bulldogs put the first run on the board with an RBI single to left by Amanda Scott.
Down 1-0 entering the fifth, junior Christy Sears (Upland, Calif./CS Fullerton) led off the inning with a base hit up the middle and advanced to second on a sacrafice bunt by freshman Sarah Hershman. The Bulldogs then made a pitching change, bringing in Scott, a two-time All-American, from left field. Aztec freshman Kelly Bunker (La Palma, Calif./Kennedy HS) proceeded to drive Scott's first pitch into centerfield for a base hit, scoring Sears from second base.
The Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI triple by Angela Cervantez and RBI single by Lovieanne Jung. The Aztecs would not go quietly as Sears began another rally in the final stanza with a one-out double to right center. Following a ground out by Hershman, Bunker drove in Sears for the second time of the contest with a base hit. That would be all SDSU would muster however and the Bulldogs escaped with their 31st home win of the season in front of 1,708 in attendance. Gregory (5-11) absorbed the loss for the Aztecs while Scott improved her season mark to 26-3.