May 12, 2003
SAN DIEGO -
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NCAA Tournament-Bound
For the second time in three years, the San Diego State softball program, which captured the 2003 Mountain West Conference regular-season title and advanced to this year's final of the MWC tournament, received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
The fifth-seeded Aztecs (38-19) look for an appearance in the 2003 Women's College World Series as they open regional action against fourth-seeded and No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette (43-8) at Region Six, hosted by Cal State Fullerton on Thursday at 9 a.m. (PDT).
Aztec games will be webcast live over the internet at goaztecs.com.
SDSU head coach Kathy Van Wyk returns to her alma mater for Regionals, where she was named the 1982 National Player of the Year while pitching for the Titans.
San Diego State is 1-0 this year against teams in Region Six (SDSU def. Oregon, 1-0, on Feb. 15).
The Aztecs are 12-12 in 2003 against teams in this year's NCAA tournament.
Some notable wins this year against teams in the tourney include a 2-0 win over Stanford (No. 2, Region 8), a 2-1 win against Michigan (No. 3, Region 7) and a 2-1 win over Michigan State (No. 3, Region 2).
The Road to Oklahoma City
The 2003 NCAA Championship features 64 teams, with eight teams participating at each of the eight regional sites in a double-elimination tournament.
Regionals will be held May 15-18, with the regional winners advancing to the Women's College World Series (WCWS). The ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City will host the WCWS, May 22-26.
Region Six Schedule
Thursday, May 15Game One No. 4 Seed La.-Lafayette vs. No. 5 Seed San Diego State 9 a.m.Game Two No. 1 Seed CS Fullerton vs. No. 8 Seed Rider 11:30 a.m.Game Three No. 3 Seed Oregon vs. No. 6 Seed Penn State 2 p.m.Game Four No. 2 Seed Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Seed Boston U. 4:30 p.m.Game Five Game One Loser vs. Game Two Loser 7 p.m.
Friday, May 16Game Six Game Three Loser vs. Game Four Loser 9 a.m.Game Seven Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner 11:30 a.m.Game Eight Game Three Winner vs. Game Four Winner 2 p.m.Game Nine Game Five Winner vs. Game Eight Loser 4:30 p.m.Game Ten Game Six Winner vs. Game Seven Loser 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 17Game Eleven Game Nine Winner vs. Game Ten Winner 11 a.m.Game Twelve Game Seven Winner vs. Game Eight Winner 1:30 p.m.Game Thirteen Game Eleven Winner vs. Game Twelve Loser 4 p.m.
Sunday, May 18Game Fourteen Game Twelve Winner vs. Game Thirteen Winner 1 p.m.Game Fifteen (IF) Game Fourteen Winner vs. Game Fourteen Loser 3:30 p.m.
The Aztecs' NCAA Tournament History
San Diego State is 3-2 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
This year's berth marks the second time in the history of the program that the Aztecs have appeared in the national tournament.
The 2001 team was the first to receive a bid to the NCAA Championships.
The Aztecs advanced to the 2001 regional finals, held at UCLA, before falling to the host and eventual NCAA runner-up Bruins, 11-0.
All-time results at NCAA tournament:5/17/01 vs. CS Northridge W, 2-05/18/01 vs. Wisconsin W, 1-05/19/01 vs. UCLA L, 1-35/19/01 vs. Wisconsin W, 6-15/20/01 vs. UCLA* L, 0-11*Regional championship game
Scouting Louisiana-Lafayette
The Aztecs face their first Region Six opponent in the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns.
No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette owns a 43-8 overall record and finished first in the Sun Belt Conference (13-3).
The Ragin' Cajuns dominated their league tournament, sweeping all three tourney opponents en route to their fourth consecutive Sun Belt tournament title.
The game between the Aztecs and Ragin' Cajuns may be a pitchers' duel, as the SDSU roster boasts the 2003 MWC Pitcher of the Year (Celena Velasquez) while La.-Lafayette's Brooke Mitchell was named this year's Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year.
Louisiana Lafayette is 2-2 against ranked opponents this year, defeating No. 10 Florida State (3-0) and No. 16 Alabama, 2-0.
Looking Ahead
A win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Thursday would advance the Aztecs to the next round in which they would face the winner of the Cal State Fullerton/Rider game on Friday at 11:30 a.m. A loss would pit SDSU against the loser of the Titan/Bronc contest on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Aztecs Garner Mountain West Conference Honors
Five players from the 2003 Mountain West Conference regular-season champion San Diego State softball team were all-conference honorees this year.
Celena Velasquez, who's 0.81 ERA and .144 opposing batting average in MWC games are league-bests, picked up Pitcher of the Year as well as Freshman of the Year honors. Velasquez owns a 15-7 record and has struck out 118 batters in 152.0 innings pitched. She set a MWC record for her ERA in conference contests this season.
Velasquez, along with sophomore pitcher Bre DeSanta, junior first baseman Jacque Vaca, junior second baseman Joann Figueroa and sophomore outfielder Erin Mahoney, were selected as members of the all-Mountain West Conference team.
SDSU was recognized with seven Player/Pitcher of the Week honorees this year, the most of any MWC school in the 2003 campaign.
Mountain West Tournament in Review
San Diego State went 2-2 at the 2003 MWC tournament, held May 8-10 at SDSU Field.
After enduring a three-game schedule last Saturday in which the top-seeded Aztecs played Brigham Young twice before advancing to the championship game of the tournament, San Diego State lost to No. 2 Colorado State, 3-1.
Earlier in the day, SDSU lost to BYU, 2-1, before defeating the Cougars, 3-1, in an elimination game.
The Aztecs opened the tournament with a 14-inning battle against New Mexico that ended with a 4-3 SDSU victory.
Freshman pitcher Celena Velasquez, junior second basman Joann Figueroa and junior first baseman Jacque Vaca were named to the Mountain West Conference all-tournament team.
San Diego State Repeats as MWC Champs
For the second year in a row, the San Diego State softball team captured the Mountain West Conference regular-season title, as it defeated Colorado State, 2-1, in the second game of its doubleheader against the Rams on May 2.
Team Notes/Milestones
San Diego State finished the season with the best conference winning percentage in program history (.800).
SDSU's current overall winning percentage (.667) is also a program-best.
The Aztec pitching staff has combined for a MWC-record 350 strikeouts this season.
The SDSU hurlers broke a team record for single-season strikeouts in the second game against Centenary College on April 13 with 271 (record previously set in 2001 with 266).
SDSU's .971 fielding percentage ranks among the top 20 in the nation (T16th).
The Aztecs are 5-11 on the road in 2003.
The Aztecs are 5-5 in their last 10 games and 15-5 in their last 20 contests.
SDSU put together a program-best 13-game winning streak from March 26-April 26.
SDSU has finished above .500 overall and in conference play each year since joining the MWC in 2000.
The Aztecs have won 17 games by way of shutout, second most in Aztec history.
The pitching rotation of Robyn Reid, Bonnie Rice and Lori Thompson set the record for most shutouts (22) in 1985.
San Diego State has never allowed its opponent to stage a seventh-inning comeback, as the Aztecs are 29-0 this year when leading in the sixth.
San Diego State has only been swept in a series once this year, dropping a pair of decisions at Fresno State on March 23.
The Aztecs are 9-3 in extra-inning contests this season.
Youth Movement
The Aztec roster lists only one senior.
Eleven transfers wear the Aztec uniform this year (eight freshmen and three transfers).
All nine starters are underclassmen.
SDSU opened conference play 9-0 before splitting its doubleheaders at UNLV, Colorado State and New Mexico.
The Aztecs' Winning Ways
With the team's 3-0 victory over Utah in the first game of the Mountain West Conference doubleheader at SDSU Field on April 19, the Aztecs made history, setting a new record for most consecutive wins in a season with 12.