Feb. 8, 2004
Washington Box Score
UCLA Box Score
LAKEWOOD, Calif. - Fighting tooth-and-nail with two teams ranked in the top five nationally, the San Diego State softball team dropped tough decisions on Sunday to No. 5 Washington, 7-6 in 11 innings, and No. 1 UCLA, 6-2. Those two games completed SDSU's play at the three-day Long Beach State Invitational and dropped the Aztecs to 3-4 on the season.
San Diego State got on the scoreboard against Washington with a second-inning triple from right fielder Kelcy Murphy (San Diego, Calif.) and sacrifice fly by second baseman Joann Figueroa's (Phoenix, Ariz.).
The fourth inning saw SDSU take a 3-0 lead when shortstop Bianca Cruz (Glendale, Ariz.) singled through the left side to score third baseman Meagan Hartung (San Diego, Calif.) and center fielder Janna Kovensky (San Diego, Calif.).
Left fielder Erin Mahoney (Westchester, Calif.) stranded a Husky on second in the fifth with an impressive running, diving catch in foul territory.
Washington tied the game with a three-run outburst in the sixth, the last two scoring on a one-out triple from designated player Dena Tyson.
The international tiebreaker was in effect at this tournament, meaning a runner would be placed at second to start every inning from the eighth inning on.
After both squads went scoreless in the eighth, Cruz drove in Murphy in the top of the ninth with a liner that left fielder Robyn Wike trapped. The lead was short-lived however as the Huskies tied with a run in their half of the frame.
The Aztecs reclaimed the lead in the 10th with two runs, one on an error and one on a Hartung RBI single, but the Huskies tied with two in the bottom of the 10th. Washington had the bases loaded with one out before starting pitcher Deanna Richards (Visalia, Calif.) retired the next two batters to keep the game alive.
In the 11th, Washington pulled out the win on second baseman Dominique Lastrapes' two-out single to drive in left fielder Robin Wike.
Leading the Aztec offense were Cruz (2-for-4, three RBI) and Murphy (2-for-5, two runs). Hartung and Figueroa also contributed two hits. Richards pitched a complete game and allowed seven runs, four earned.
The 11-inning game was the longest for Washington since they went 14 innings in a 5-4 loss to UCLA on April 13, 2001, while the Aztecs had a 14-inning victory over New Mexico, 4-3, on May 9, 2003, at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The Aztecs' second game of the day saw UCLA grab a 1-0 first-inning lead, but San Diego State fought back. A couple more spectacular catches by Mahoney, one running to left center and one sprinting back toward the left field fence, help keep the Bruins off the scoreboard in their half of the third. An impressive Aztec fourth saw four of the first five SDSU batters reach base with two rounding the bases. The 2-1 lead would last until the bottom of the fifth when the Bruins tallied two runs and added three in the sixth for the final 6-4 margin.
Murphy went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Starting pitcher Celena Velasquez (Tucson, Ariz.) pitched well against the defending national champions, allowing five runs, three earned, in 5-1/3 innings.
The Aztecs return to action next weekend, hosting the Aztec Invitational at SDSU Field. The tournament starts with four games on Friday: UC Santa Barbara vs. Mississippi State at 9 a.m., UC Santa Barbara vs. Oklahoma State at 11 a.m., the host Aztecs against Mississippi State at 1 p.m. and SDSU vs. Oklahoma State at 3 p.m. Four games on Saturday (including Aztec games against UC Santa Barbara and Oklahoma State) and two on Sunday (including SDSU vs. Mississippi State) follow.