May 14, 1999
FRESNO, Calif. - The San Diego State University softball team, behind a complete-game four-hit shutout by pitcher Sandra Durazo (Granada Hills, Calif./John F. Kennedy HS), staved off elimination with a 2-0 victory over second-seeded New Mexico this afternoon at the 1999 WAC Tournament. The win pushed the Aztecs back over the .500 mark at 24-23 while New Mexico dropped to 42-14. SDSU will return to action tonight at 7:30 p.m. against tourney host and defending national champion Fresno State. The Bulldogs, currently ranked second in the nation, enter the contest with 58-8 overall record. FSU defeated Utah last night, 2-1, in its only tournament appearance thus far.
"We had the defense we needed," said head coach Kathy Van Wyk. " In fact, every facet of our game was effective for us tis afternoon. Sandra Durazo pitched a great game for us. We got the clutch hits when we needed them, which we couldn't do yesterday. Now we're going to get rested up for our big game (against Fresno State). Hopefully we'll be able to continue what we started this afternoon."
A pitching duel through the first three innings, the Aztecs took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by freshman second baseman Sarah Hershman (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) - her ninth RBI in the last five games. The Aztecs added an insurance run in the sixth. Kellie Labor (La Crescenta, Calif./Pasadena CC) lined a one-out triple down the right field line and scored on error by the Lobo shortstop the very next batter.
Durazo upped her season record to 18-12, establishing a new Aztec standard for single-season victories, surpassing the mark of 17 previously shared with Robyn Reid (1985) and Michelle Wesson (1990). Durazo, only a sophomore, also climbed into fourth on the SDSU career win chart by posting her 32nd victory. Wesson holds the all-time mark with 45. For the tournament, Durazo is 1-1 (1.00 ERA) with nine strikeouts and zero walks in 14 innings pitched. Just two Lobo runners reached second base in her 20th complete game of the season.