March 2, 2003
TUCSON, Ariz. - The San Diego State softball team lost to No. 2 Arizona, 6-0, Sunday afternoon in its final game of the Hillenbrand Invitational. With the loss, the Aztecs' overall record dropped to 12-8. Despite losing two in a row to the six-time national champion Wildcats this weekend, SDSU has won four of its last six games.
Junior first baseman Jacque Vaca extended her hitting streak to six games in the losing effort, getting a single in the top of the fourth inning. Vaca currently has a team-high .345 batting average, starting 19 of the Aztecs' 20 games so far this season. Freshman outfielder Bree Boyer got SDSU's second hit of the game, singling up the middle and then advancing to second on a throwing error by Arizona shortstop Lovie Jung.
Celena Velasquez got her sixth start of the season for SDSU, picking up the second loss of her freshman campaign. She gave up seven hits over 3.2 innings of work, fanning five of the 20 batters she faced. Sophomore Bre DeSanta came in on relief for Velasquez in the fourth and struck out the last batter in both the fifth and sixth frames to get out of the inning with the bases loaded. DeSanta gave up no runs on two hits in her outing.
The Wildcats scored in the first inning when catcher MacKenzie Vandergeest hit a home run to left field to score two runs. Arizona got on the board again in the third as Wendy Allen singled and Lisha Ribellia doubled to center field to bring home a total of four Wildcats.
San Diego State returns home for a single game with St. John's on Tuesday at 3 p.m. before hosting the SDSU Tournament March 7-9.