April 3, 2003
SAN DIEGO -
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Beehive State-Bound
The defending Mountain West Conference regular-season champion San Diego State softball team (26-14, 4-0 MWC) travels to Utah this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders against MWC foes BYU and Utah.
The Aztecs face the Cougars at Gail Miller Field for a pair of games beginning at 1 p.m. on Friday, then square-off in a doubleheader against the Utes, in a rematch of last year's conference tournament championship game, at Ute Field on Sunday starting at 11 a.m.
Following the games in Utah, San Diego State returns home for a two-week homestand in which it will host UNLV, Centenary College, BYU and Utah.
Take Two
The Aztecs opened the conference season in winning fashion, sweeping New Mexico and Colorado State over the weekend, and currently lead the league as they look for a repeat title in 2003.
With the wins, the Aztecs improved to 26-14 overall and take a perfect 4-0 conference record with them to Utah.
SDSU has put together a season-high six-game winning streak, dating back to its 3-0 upset victory over then-No. 22 Oregon State on March 26.
Vaca & Velasquez Named MWC Player and Pitcher of the Week
San Diego State junior first baseman Jacque Vaca and freshman right-handed pitcher Celena Velasquez were named this week's Mountain West Conference softball player and pitcher of the week. This is the first career weekly honor for both Aztecs.
Vaca hit at a .375 clip over the weekend in leading SDSU to a 6-0 record, including a pair of wins against No. 22 Oregon State.
A native of Ontario, Calif., Vaca notched a double and drove in five runs, while hitting safely in five of the six contests. She knocked in the go-ahead runs in the Aztecs' 2-1 upset victory over the Beavers and in SDSU's 2-1 win against Colorado State.
Vaca leads San Diego State with a .342 batting average and 22 RBI on the season.
Velasquez went 3-0 in four appearances during the week. She registered three complete games to go along with two shutouts and pitched a career-high nine innings in the Aztecs' 1-0 victory over New Mexico in SDSU's league-opener.
Velasquez struck out 17 batters while only giving up 16 hits and allowed three runs for a 0.86 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched. The Tucson, Ariz., native was dominating in her outing against No. 22 Oregon State last Wednesday in which she shut out the Beavers, limiting OSU to six hits while not walking a single batter.
The freshman owns a 2.13 ERA on the season and has struck out a total of 62 batters in 85.1 innings of work in the circle.
This is the third time in eight weeks that two SDSU athletes have been honored with the award in the same week, the most of any other MWC school.
Facts and Figures
SDSU is riding a season-high six-game winning streak...The Aztecs are 5-3 against ranked opponents and 6-4 this year against teams who were either ranked at the time of the contest or are currently ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll...San Diego State has finished above .500 overall and in conference play each year since joining the MWC in 2000...The Aztecs have won 12 games by way of shutout...The Aztecs are 20-0 this year when leading in the sixth inning...SDSU set a season high for most runs scored with nine against Eastern Kentucky on March 15...San Diego State's losses to Stanford and Fresno State marked the first time SDSU has lost more than two games in a row this season.
Scouting BYU
The Cougars (23-8, 1-1 MWC) are most recently coming off a two-game sweep against Utah State in which BYU tallied nine homeruns en route to its 12-2 and 9-1 victories. BYU split its conference-opening series with in-state rival Utah, beating Utah 12-6 before dropping a 7-2 decision.
The Cougars have won 14 of their last 15 games.
Brigham Young is led by All-American Oli Keohohou, who leads the conference in multiple categories including batting average (.447), runs scored (36), total bases (89), slugging percentage (1.047), on base percentage (.583), RBI (33), and home runs (13).
BYU sits atop the conference in several statistics including batting average (.292), runs scored (180), doubles (37), triples (11), home runs (38), RBI, (156) and slugging percentage.
San Diego State leads the all-time series with the Cougars, 9-3.
Last year, SDSU swept the first doubleheader in San Diego (5-4, 2-0), then later split with the Cougars in Provo. At the confernece tournament, hosted by BYU, the Aztecs beat the Cougars, 10-4.
Tracking Utah
After splitting its conference-opener with BYU last Saturday, the Utes own an 11-17 mark, 1-1 in league play.
Utah hosts Long Beach State and UNLV before facing the Aztecs on Sunday.
The Utes have not been able to win more than three games in a row so far this season since defeating No. 12 Arizona State earlier in the year to begin a season-high three-game winning streak that lasted from Feb. 9-Feb. 14.
Utah is led by senior first baseman Niki Hayhurst, who's .312 batting average, .519 slugging percentage and .432 on-base percentage are all team-bests.
Senior pitcher Jen Pursell has pitched the most innings of Utah's three-man rotation (94.1 IP) and has a 6-9 record.
The Utes' defense has struggled this season, as they currently have the league's lowest fielding percentage.
Offensively, Utah ranks among the top three in the league in stolen bases (28, 3rd) and home runs (12, 3rd).
Utah defeated SDSU in the championship game of the 2002 conference tournament.
Utah holds a 35-16 advantage in the all-time series.
Head Coach Kathy Van Wyk
Head coach Kathy Van Wyk, the Mountain West Conference's 2002 coach of the year, has easily been more successful than any previous coach at San Diego State. In just six seasons at the helm, Van Wyk has taken the SDSU softball program and elevated it to the ranks of conference champion and NCAA regional tournament finalist.
Under Van Wyk's leadership, the Aztecs have completed the season above .500 the past four seasons and have finished among the top-three in the Mountain West Conference three years running.
She is also the first coach to achieve a top-25 ranking, two 40-win seasons and is the fastest to 100 wins in the history of the program.
Premium Pitchers
The Aztec pitching staff, consisting of sophomore Bre DeSanta and freshmen Deanna Richards and Celena Velasquez, have combined for conference-bests in batters struck out (231) and wins (26). The rotation's 1.74 ERA and .214 opposing batting average rank second in the league.
Individually, all three hurlers are among the top-10 in the conference in wins, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched.
DeSanta, the 2002 MWC Pitcher of the Year, seems to be outdoing herself in the 2003 campaign, as she has pitched two no-hitters this year and set a new career record for strikeouts in a single game (11, vs. Long Beach State).
The Scottsdale, Ariz., native has also pitched eight shutouts this season, three more than she did all of last year.
Velasquez (8-4) has pitched eight games in which she has not walked a single batter, including the 3-0 win over No. 22 Oregon State.
This week's conference pitcher of the week, Velasquez has picked up three wins in her last three decisions.
Richards owns a 6-5 mark, earning wins over then-No. 4 Michigan and Kansas, which was receiving votes in the poll at the time of the game and is now ranked No. 23.
First-Rate First Baseman
Junior first baseman Jacque Vaca, this week's conference player of the week, leads the team with a .342 batting average, 22 RBI, .372 on-base percentage and seven doubles.
Last week, Vaca had back-to-back games in which she had at least one hit and two RBI.
She drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the Aztecs' 2-1 victory over Colorado State in the bottom of the sixth inning and is currently riding a five-game hitting streak.
Vaca ranks among the top-10 in the league in hits (39, 2nd), batting average (.342, 4th), and RBI (22, 4th).
The transfer from Illinois-Chicago leads the team with 274 putouts, while only committing three errors for an impressive .990 fielding percentage.
Stellar Second Baseman
Joann Figueroa's .317 batting average is eighth-best among MWC players. Figueroa is also listed in the top 10 for her 38 hits (4th).
The Phoenix, Ariz., native has hit safely in five of the Aztecs' last six games, including a 2-for-3 performance against Colorado State with one RBI and one run scored.
Figueroa was named the MWC player of the week on March 11, following SDSU's game against Harvard in which the junior went 4-for-4 from the plate to go along with three runs scored.
Kovensky in the Outfield
Junior center fielder Janna Kovensky ranks among the top 10 in the conference in hits (35, 5th), runs (21, T5th) and RBI (14, T10th).
She has notched hits in six of the Aztecs' last seven games, including a 2-for-5 performance in SDSU's contests with Oregon State, driving in one run and scoring a run.
Kovensky's batting average has improved this week to .304, tenth-best in the league.
Marvelous Mahoney
Left fielder Erin Mahoney ranks among the league leaders in hits (34, 6th) and runs (21, T5th).
The sophomore is batting .301 and has hit safely in five of SDSU's last six games, including going a perfect 3-for-3 in the Aztecs' 2-1 win over Colorado State on Sunday.
Movin' on Up
Freshman Bridgette Caron and sophomores Lacey Craft, Jennifer Funk and Danielle Touhey have been seeing more playing time of late and are making the most of their action on the field.
Funk has started the Aztecs' last six games in right field. She went 1-for-3 at the plate against Oregon State with one RBI.
Caron has started 19 games this season in right field. She is batting .250 and went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI in the Aztecs' games with Harvard and Long Beach State at the SDSU Tournament.
Craft started at third base in six games and pieced together a three-game hitting streak during that time. She was 2-for-3 at the plate in the games against No. 22 Oregon State with one RBI. She is currently batting .211, up significantly from what she was batting (.095) just two weeks ago.
Touhey has earned the starting nod behind the plate in the Aztecs' last 14 games. In that time frame, her batting average has climbed to .231, hitting safely in eight of those contests, including a 2-for-4 effort against Eastern Kentucky on March 15.
SDSU in the MWC
The Aztecs currently rank first in the conference in stolen bases (37) and batters struk out (231).
SDSU is second among fellow MWC teams in hits (256), triples (6), ERA (1.74), fielding percentage (.970) and opposing batting average (.214).
San Diego State softball was unanimously selected to finish first in the 2003 Mountain West Conference race in a vote of the league's six head coaches (head coaches cannot vote for their own teams).