March 2, 2002
FULLERTON, Calif. - San Diego State (10-10-1) played in two games, both against Pac-10 teams, and both on the Cal State Fullerton campus. That is where the similarities ended. In an upset that was settled in the bottom of the ninth, the Aztecs took their first victory over a ranked team this season with a 1-0 win over No. 11 Oregon State. SDSU started the second game against No. 7 California with a different philosophy, knocking down four runs in the first inning, but lost in the final inning 5-4 with two outs and a full count.
In the circle the Aztecs were on the mark against the Beavers, led by freshman ace Bre DeSanta. DeSanta faced 32 batters and gave up two hits, while striking out OSU seven times.
State's lone run was in the ninth with a single by senior Sarah Hershman that brought Janna Kovensky home and clinched the game for the Aztecs.
The second game began with a different twist. The Aztecs scored with a double by Tiffany Goudy that sent Joann Figueroa and Kellie Nordhagen home. Hershman reached on a fielder's choice that gave Kovensky room to run home. Goudy scored off of a hit by Kelcy Murphy to the second baseman, totaling four runs in the first inning.
California answered with two runs in the bottom of the first and a third in the third, but the game was decided in the bottom of the seventh. State fought a tough defense battle with the Bears, but conceded in the final play of the game when Jill Anderson singled sending two runners home and taking the win.
Defensively the Aztecs rivaled the best with their athletic-acrobatic style of play, that included a collision by Murphy and a Cal runner that led to an out and a save by Summer Ehrsam that began when she dove for a ball and jumped up to beat the runner to the bag.
The Aztecs will face off with San Jose State and Portland State tomorrow at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.