May 7, 2002
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The no. 1 seeded San Diego State softball team heads to Provo, Utah for the Mountain West Conference Tournament with its eye on the prize-- a tournament championship. SDSU will face the winner of the BYU/New Mexico game on Thurs. at 7 p.m. The tournament is a three-day event with games scheduled from Thurs., May 9-Sat., May 11. All six teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs wrapped up the regular season by winning the conference title last weekend, the first in the history of the program.
The team will be presented with the Mountain West Conference regular-season trophy at a banquet on Wednesday night. Freshman pitcher Bre DeSanta is the favorite to win Pitcher of the Year, while many other Aztecs are expected to earn All-Mountain West Conference honors.
Last Week
Dreams are becoming reality for SDSU with its first conference title in the program's 25-year history. San Diego State split with UNLV (6-2, 1-2) in a doubleheader home finale on Saturday, ending the regular season with a 39-21-1 overall record and a 14-4 finish in the Mountain West. *Freshman pitcher Bre DeSanta did it again with a three-hitter win against the Rebels in game one. DeSanta extends her unbeaten streak in the Mountain West to 9-0, while giving her a, 18-8 overall record.
* Sophomore Janna Kovensky slugs her way to a four-game hitting streak with a 3-for-6 performance against UNLV that included a double.
* Kelcy Murphy is currently riding a three-game hitting streak. She was 2-for-6 six this weekend with three RBI.
* The Aztecs combined to outhit the Rebels 12-7 in this weekend's contests.
Raising The Bar... Again
The 2001 team raised the bar with its record-shattering finish, but the 2002 team is on pace to top the charts again.
* First conference tournament title.
* One more win makes the Aztecs the fastest team to 40 wins in the history of the MWC.
Home Runs... Who Cares
Sure home runs are a nice way to get runs, but the Aztecs have proven that home runs aren't the only way to win games.
* SDSU has hit only 10 home runs this season, but leads the conference in triples (15) and is second with 406 hits and 214 runs scored.
* Kelcy Murphy leads the team with three homeruns and four triples.
* Tiffany Goudy, Summer Ehrsam and Janna Kovensky are the only three Aztecs to hit beyond the fence in conference play.
Leading Off
Senior outfielder Kellie Nordhagen is right at home leading off in the order, she has a .310 (62-200) average from the top spot. She is hitting .328 (22-67) in conference play.
Tough Schedule
The Aztecs have struggled to beat teams in the top 25 this season, the most recent loss being to No. 7 Cal State Fullerton.
* SDSU has beaten No. 11 Oregon State and No. 20 Texas A&M, but have fallen to No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 Stanford, No. 6 California, No. 9 Washington and No. 16 Fresno State.
For Streakers
* Joann Figueroa wrapped up a 12-game hitting streak, the longest in the Mountain West Conference this season.
* Sarah Hershman closed out a 10-game hitting streak. She had a seven-gamer earlier this season.
*Tiffany Goudy finished a nine-game hitting streak, her longest of the year.
* Kellie Nordhagen and Janna Kovensky both have seven-game streaks this season.
Oh Save It
Bre DeSanta is currently tied for fifth in the nation with six saves, but has pitched complete games for the Aztecs in her last seven appearances.
Atop The Mountain
San Diego State has a good view from the top of the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs not only lead the conference standings, but also top the charts in several offensive and defensive categories.
* Senior Tiffany Goudy leads the Mountain West with 66 hits.
* Freshman Bre DeSanta leads the conference in ERA (1.08), strikeouts (142), appearances (43) and opposing batting average (.205).
* The Aztec pitching staff's 1.76 ERA leads the MWC.
* State leads the conference in sac bunts (86), triples (15) and stolen bases (82).
One Is The Loneliest Number
Several Aztecs have had multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games this season. * Leading the pack in both categories is senior Tiffany Goudy. She has had 21 multiple-hit and 11 multiple-RBI games.
* Kellie Nordhagen has 19 multiple-hit games followed by Joann Figueroa and Sarah Hershman with 13 each.
* All-in-all, 10 Aztecs have at least one multiple-hit game and one multiple-RBI game.
Aztecs Earn Numerous Conference Honors
Several Aztecs have been recognized by the Mountain West Conference as Player and Pitcher of the Week on numerous occassions.
*Bre DeSanta leads the pack with five Pitcher of the Week honors.
*Seniors Kellie Nordhagen, Sarah Hershman and Tiffany Goudy have all earned one Player of the Week honor.
Sophomore Standouts
Last year's phenom freshmen have matured into this year's superb sophs.
* Janna Kovensky has 58 hits, three triples and two home runs. She has scored 35 runs and stolen a team-high 18 bases.
* Joann Figueroa returns at shortstop with a .302 batting average, has 10 stolen bases and just finished a 12-game hitting streak.
* Kelcy Murphy hit a single, double and triple against New Mexico and leads the Aztecs with three home runs. She has totaled 37 RBI this season.