May 10, 2001
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - San Diego State senior right-hander Sandra Durazo pitched a one-hitter and faced the minimum as the third-seeded Aztecs defeated sixth-seeded UNLV 4-0 in the first game of the 2001 Mountain West Conference championship. The Aztecs, which won their conference tournament opener for the first time since 1992, will battle second-seeded Utah later today at 2 p.m. MDT/1 p.m. PDT.
Durazo, who was honored as the Mountain West Conference pitcher of the year last evening, carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning. The senior's bid for her first career no-hitter came to end when UNLV's Shawna Goessling lined a 3-2 pitch off the glove of first baseman Summer Ehrsam to leadoff the seventh inning.
"A couple of teammates told me about the no hitter before we took the field in the seventh inning," Durazo said. "I was just worried about winning the game, but it was still in the back of my mind because I have never thrown one."
Durazo allowed three Rebels to reach base in the game but faced the minimum thanks to three Aztec double plays. The senior threw 95 pitches, including 64 strikes. She also tied her school-record for victories in the season with 25 and with the first of her six strikeouts on the morning, broke a 14-year-old school-record for strikeouts in a season.
"What else can you say?" Aztec head coach Kathy Van Wyk said. "I was disappointed that she didn't get it, but it was an unbelievably dominating performance. She just keeps getting better as the season goes on."
The Aztecs struck early, scoring three times in the second inning. Freshman catcher Shauna Fisher singled home third baseman Tashie Aguinaga and center fielder Janna Kovensky to give San Diego State a 2-0 lead. Aguinaga was 3-for-3 on the day with a run scored.
Freshman shortstop Joann Figueroa completed the scoring in the inning with an RBI base hit.
The Aztecs added an insurance run in the fourth on the strength of four hits in the frame. Junior second baseman Sarah Hershman singled home Kovensky to put San Diego State up 4-0.
San Diego State and Utah meet in the third game of the day. If the Aztecs win, they will play on Friday at 2 p.m. MDT/1 p.m. PDT against the winner of the UNLV-New Mexico/Colorado State/Brigham Young back draw game. If the Aztecs lose to Utah, they will play at 11:30 a.m. MDT/10:30 a.m. PDT on Friday against the loser of the New Mexico-Colorado State game.
(3) San Diego State 4, (6) UNLV 0
UNLV 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 1 1SDSU 0 3 1 0 0 0 x - 4 10 0Sandra Durazo and Shauna Fisher. Geney Orris and Samantha Kimura. WP Durazo (25-12). LP Kimura. S none. LOB San Diego State 5, UNLV 0. DP San Diego State 3, UNLV 0. 2B none. 3B none. HR none. SB SDSU: Janna Kovensky, Sarah Hershman. CS SDSU: Kellie Nordhagen, Tashie Aguinaga. SH none. SF none. T 1:48. A TBA.