March 2, 2004
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Aztecs Host Third Tournament of Four
* San Diego State hosts the SDSU Tournament this weekend, with four teams visiting the SDSU campus, including No. 1/1 UCLA. Other teams coming are Nevada, Syracuse and Cal Poly. For a complete SDSU Tournament schedule, click on the link labelled "2004 SDSU Tournament" on the right side of the softball front page.
* The last time San Diego State hosted UCLA on campus occurred Feb. 25, 1990, when the Bruins swept a doubleheader, 5-1 and 5-0.
* The Aztecs are hosting three tournaments and co-hosting a fourth. After winning the Aztec Invitational with a 4-1 record and going 2-2 at the prestigious Campbell/Cartier Classic, SDSU hosts the SDSU Tournament this weekend and co-hosts the San Diego Tournament with the University of San Diego from March 19-21 (all Aztec games will take place at SDSU Field).
* Friday starts the most challenging part of San Diego State's schedule. The Aztecs not only play 16 games over a 17-day span, but also play six-of-10 games against top-25 teams, including two games against No. 1/1 UCLA and one against No. 5/5 Oklahoma.
Recapping last week
* The Aztecs followed a 7-1 win over San Diego on Wednesday night with a tough 1-3 road trip to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, which included four one-run losses. The Aztecs lost a doubleheader on Saturday to Cal Poly, 2-1 and 1-0, and fell to UC Santa Barbara, 4-3, before coming back for a 5-1 victory on Sunday over the Gauchos.
* In the final game of the weekend, pitcher Deanna Richards (Visalia, Calif.) carried a perfect game into the fifth and her no-hit bid was broken up with one out in the seventh. The Aztecs immediately put the game in their control with four runs in the second, sparked by a Richards homer, her first of the season.
* UCSB won the first game of Sunday's play, 4-3, with a game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh off a double down the right field line.
* The Aztecs were bolstered by a couple of impressive pitching performances by Richards and Cori Janelli (Visalia, Calif.) on Saturday, but could not find enough offense and fell to the Mustangs, 2-1 and 1-0.
* The regularly-scheduled game last Friday between San Diego State and Cal State Northridge was cancelled due to construction.
* San Diego State defeated host San Diego, 7-1, on Wednesday as center fielder Janna Kovensky (San Diego, Calif.) went 3-for-4 and three others contributed two hits each.
Aztecs vs. Bruins - 2001 NCAA Tournament
* San Diego State played in its first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2001 at Easton Stadium on the UCLA campus. The Aztecs had a Cinderella-type run, going 3-2 and advancing to the championship against UCLA. The Bruins topped SDSU in their two regional match-ups, 3-1 and 11-0. The Aztecs defeated Cal State Northridge, 2-0, and Wisconsin twice with seventh-inning rallies, 1-0 and 6-1.
* Current Aztecs had a big part in the tournament. Aztec seniors who were freshmen include second baseman Joann Figueroa (Phoenix, Ariz.), center fielder Janna Kovensky (San Diego, Calif.) and Kelcy Murphy (San Diego, Calif.).
* Figueroa drove in the winning run of SDSU's 1-0 victory over Wisconsin with an RBI single to left-center field in the bottom of the seventh.
* Kovensky tied the first match-up with UCLA, 1-1, in the fourth with a home run. She would earn all-tournament honors by hitting .462 (6-for-13).
* Murphy's single in the seventh inning of SDSU's second meeting with Wisconsin, a must-win situation, and an ensuing error allowed the Aztecs to tie the game, 1-1, and placed runners on second and third. That set the stage for SDSU's six-run outburst in the inning that eliminated the Badgers and moved San Diego State into the regional championship round.
* Current UCLA senior pitcher Keira Goerl threw a complete-game victory in the Bruins' 3-1 victory over San Diego State.
Van Wyk Nears 250 Victories
* Head coach Kathy Van Wyk (245-194-1) is only five wins away from her 250th victory. Van Wyk is also nine victories from breaking Linda Spradley's (1984-94) school-record of 253 wins (Spradley went 253-372-4). From 1995-96, the two shared head coaching duties and compiled a 48-69 mark.
* Under Van Wyk's leadership, the Aztecs have advanced to their lone NCAA Tournament appearances, in 2001 and 2003. The 2001 squad went 3-2, while the 2003 team was 1-2 in tourney action.
Richards almost perfect
* Pitcher Deanna Richards (Visalia, Calif.) carried a perfect game into the fifth inning and a no-hitter into the seventh in the second game of a doubleheader at UC Santa Barbara on Sunday. The perfect game was broken up by an Aztec error while a bloop single with one out in the seventh broke up the no-hit bid. The sophomore is still looking for her first career no-hitter. None of the three current Aztec pitchers have thrown a no-hitter for SDSU.
Too Fast For Her Shoes
* Right fielder Bree Boyer (Huntington Beach, Calif.) not only lost her shoes once on the basepaths in the fifth inning of Wednesday's 7-1 victory over San Diego, but twice. While crossing first base on a close play, Boyer lost a shoe. Later in the inning, she would score, albeit while losing a shoe once again, this time between third and home. She didn't let that stop her and she scored ahead of the throw to give SDSU a 3-0 lead.
* Boyer's .256 batting average (11-for-43) is more than twice as good as last season's .128 average (5-of-39). Her average is fifth best on the team and second best of non-senior Aztecs.
Caron Carries Aztecs to Victory
* Right fielder Bridgette Caron (Fallbrook, Calif.) hit a double, the sophomore's second extra-base hit of her career, over the UC Santa Barbara left fielder's head in the second inning of SDSU's 5-1 victory over the Gauchos on Sunday. When Caron singled in her next at-bat in the fourth, she doubled her hit output of the season in a span of three innings. She entered the game with a .100 batting average (2-for-20) and finished with a .174 average (4-for-23).
New Single-Game Doubles Record
* Five different Aztecs hit doubles in an 8-4 victory over Hawai'i on Feb. 21, breaking the previous record of four that was set in an 11-0 victory over San Diego at the Aztec Invitational on March 24, 2000.
* Right fielder Bree Boyer (Huntington Beach, Calif.) broke the record in the seventh with a double down the left field line. Third baseman Meagan Hartung (San Diego, Calif.) got the Aztec doubles parade going as the first batter of the game with one down the right field line. Catcher Danielle Touhey (Fresno, Calif.), pitcher Deanna Richards (Visalia, Calif.) and second baseman Joann Figueroa (Phoenix, Ariz.) each contributed a double.
The Hits and Runs Keep Coming
* San Diego State compiled 13 hits in its 8-4 victory over Hawai'i on Feb. 21, the most by an SDSU squad since May 10, 2002, when the Aztecs had 14 hits in a 10-4 win at BYU at the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
* The Aztecs scored in every inning of an 11-2, five-inning victory over No. 21/24 Oklahoma State. The last time an Aztec squad scored 11 runs in a game occurred on April 27, 2000, in an 11-9 victory at UNLV, a span of 210 games.
Hartung's Hits Multiply at an Alarming Rate
* Infielder Meagan Hartung (San Diego, Calif.) already has 10 times as many hits as all of last season. After going 2-for-20 as a freshman in 2003 (.100 batting average), she has hit .375 this season (20-for-56), second-best on the team.
Murphy and Kovensky, Still Teammates
* Seniors Kelcy Murphy (San Diego, Calif.) and Janna Kovensky (San Diego, Calif.) have played softball together since the summer before their sixth-grade years. The two have also went to school together since sixth grade in addition to pre-school.
* For the season, the two are 1-3 on the team in batting average: Kovensky leads the squad with a .382 average (21-of-55) and Murphy is batting .333 (15-of-45).
Aztecs Selected First in Preseason Poll
* The San Diego State softball team has been picked to finish first in the 2004 Mountain West Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Aztecs' 23 points and four first-place votes outpaced runner-up Colorado State's 21 points and two first-place votes. Following in the poll are BYU (18 points), Utah (13), UNLV (9) and New Mexico (6).
Full of Middle Classmen
* San Diego State's 2004 roster is full of sophomores and juniors. Thirteen of 17 Aztec players are sophomores (six) and juniors (seven), while the team sports only one freshman (Amanda Beasley) and three seniors (Joann Figueroa, Kelcy Murphy and Janna Kovensky).
Local Connection
* Seven of SDSU's 17 players hail from San Diego county, including Amanda Beasley (Spring Valley), Jamie Burton (Carlsbad), Bridgette Caron (Fallbrook), Lacey Craft (Valley Center), Meagan Hartung (San Diego), Janna Kovensky (San Diego) and Kelcy Murphy (San Diego). Fourteen players list California cities as their hometowns, while three call Arizona home.
SDSU Keeps Getting Better and Better
* San Diego State's winning percentage has risen an impressive five consecutive seasons with last season's .650 winning percentage (39-21 record) overall and .800 winning percentage (12-3) in Mountain West Conference action breaking team records.
* In fact, SDSU's last three seasons are the three best in school history in terms of overall wins and winning percentage. Prior to 1999, the school had only two winning seasons in the program's first 23 years.
Final Season at SDSU Field
* The 2004 season will be the final one that SDSU Field will be the primary field for the San Diego State softball team as a new stadium is due to be completed by October 2004. The facility will seat 1,000 with room to add 1,000 more seats. A tree-lined concourse will grace the path between the new stadium and Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* San Diego Padre owners, John and Becky Moores, donated approximately $6.5 million for the combined softball/tennis facility.
Scouting Nevada
* The Wolf Pack are off to a 9-8 start.
* Of players who have seen action in at least six games, infielder Kristin Stith leads the offense with a .342 batting average. Judith van Kampen (3-3) leads the pitchers with a 1.34 ERA.
* In records dating to 1980, the Aztecs hold a 9-1 advantage over Nevada. SDSU won all three 2003 meetings at SDSU Field, 3-1 on March 14 and 2-0 and 3-0 on March 18. Last season (22-35) was Nevada's first since dropping the program following the 1989 season. The Aztecs have won the last nine meetings with Nevada's win coming in the first meeting between the schools on April 9, 1983, by a 2-0 score at the Libby Matson Tiger Invitational in Lodi, Calif.
Scouting UCLA
* The Bruins are 16-0 on the season after finishing their 2003 national championship season with a 54-7 record. Dating back to last season, UCLA holds a 21-game winning streak, its longest since a 24-game winning streak during the 2003 season.
* Outfielder Stephanie Ramos leads Bruin batters with a .490 batting average. Andrea Duran is also hitting over .400 with a .438 average. UCLA has out-homered its opponents, 31-1.
* UCLA has two pitchers with stellar ERAs: Keira Goerl (0.23) and Lisa Dodd (0.36).
* The Bruins took advantage of a season-high eight errors by the Aztecs in a 6-2 victory at the Long Beach State Invitational on Feb. 8.
* The Bruins have won 44 consecutive meetings between the schools with the last Aztec victory coming by a 2-1 score on April 29, 1977. The Bruins hold a 48-2 all-time advantage over the Aztecs (including 1977-79).
Scouting Syracuse
* The Orangewomen are 5-6 and are coming off a tournament championship at the Mardi Gras Mambo with a 3-1 record, topping host Nicholls State and McNeese State twice each, while falling to Mississippi.
* Outfielder Tanya Rose's .286 batting average leads Syracuse. Courtney Mosch's 2.96 ERA is the best on the team.
* Syracuse went 17-25 last season.
* San Diego State and Syracuse have never met on the softball field.
Scouting Cal Poly
* The Mustangs are 8-8.
* Infielder Roni Sparrey's .385 batting average and .519 slugging percentage lead all Mustangs. The pitchers are led by Jennifer Graver's 1.65 ERA.
* The Mustangs topped San Diego State last Saturday in a pair of one-run decisions, 2-1 and 1-0. SDSU had won four straight meetings up to that point, including a 5-4 win on March 8, 2002, at the Hedrick's Hallowell Classic in Fresno, Calif.