May 10, 2003
SAN DIEGO - After enduring a three-game schedule today in which the Aztec softball team (38-19) played Brigham Young twice before advancing to the championship game of the 2003 Mountain West Conference tournament, top-seeded San Diego State lost to No. 2 Colorado State, 3-1. With the win, the Rams secured the automatic berth to the 2003 NCAA Championships. The Aztecs will learn tomorrow at 7 p.m. (PST) if they have received an at-large bid to the national tournament.
San Diego State took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning of the championship game against CSU when junior center fielder Janna Kovensky drove in junior second baseman Joann Figueroa. The Rams' offense came alive in the third frame, scoring three runs on four hits off freshman hurler Celena Velasquez (15-7). Velasquez, this year's MWC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, pitched a total of 10.2 innings today, appearing in all three games and getting the starting nod in two of them.
Sophomore pitcher Bre DeSanta came in on relief for Velasquez and allowed no runs on one hit while striking out five. But the Aztec offense could not find its rhythm, as Colorado State held on to its two-run lead and claimed the 3-1 victory.
Earlier in the day, the Aztecs faced BYU in the fourth round of tournament action. The Cougars defeated SDSU, 2-1. DeSanta picked up the loss for the Aztecs, her first against a Mountain West Conference opponent this year. The defeat forced an elimination-game between the two teams, with the winner advancing to the championship contest.
In the second game against the Cougars, SDSU built a 1-0 lead before BYU knotted the game at one run a piece in the fourth inning. The Aztecs answered in its half of the fourth frame when Figueroa, who went 2-for-3 from the plate with two RBI, drove in what proved to be the game winning run with her double to left center. Freshman Bridgette Caron and sophomore Jennifer Funk scored on Figueroa's double to put SDSU up for good, 3-1. Velasquez got the win for the Aztecs, allowing five hits and no earned runs while striking out six in her complete-game effort.
Figueroa, Velasquez and junior first baseman Jacque Vaca were named to the Mountain West Conference all-tournament team.