March 13, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - The San Diego State softball team (16-13) defeated North Texas (7-29) at the Clovis Auto Row Softball Classic on Saturday afternoon, earning head coach Kathy Van Wyk her 250th career victory. The Aztecs battled for an unearned run in the fifth and pitchers Deanna Richards (Visalia, Calif.) and Celena Velasquez (Tucson, Ariz.) combined for SDSU's fifth shutout of the season and fourth in an eight-game span.
Van Wyk, in her eighth season as head coach of the Aztecs, has led SDSU to levels never previously reached, including its three best seasons in terms of winning percentage and number of wins, which occurred the past three seasons. Prior to 1999, the school had only two winning seasons in the program's first 23 seasons.
The Aztecs scored the lone run of the game in the top of the fifth. After the first two Aztecs were retired, third baseman Brittany Green (San Clemente, Calif.) reached on an error by the North Texas shortstop and stole second, her first career stolen base. Shortstop Meagan Hartung (San Diego, Calif.) then singled down the right field line to score Green.
Richards threw three innings of shutout ball before being relieved by Velasquez, who earned the win (7-3) for her four innings of work, allowing no runs and striking out five, including striking out the side in the fourth, her first inning.
SDSU takes on No. 1/1 UCLA at 7 p.m. tonight. The Bruins (24-0) enter the game with a 29-game winning streak, dating back to last season. The streak is tied for the 15th longest in NCAA history. San Diego State and UCLA played an epic game last Saturday at SDSU Field, which resulted in the Bruins pulling out a 1-0, 10-inning victory. UCLA has scored at least three runs in every game this season and has defeated each opponent by at least two runs, except for that SDSU-UCLA game. The Aztecs finish the tournament on Sunday with a 1 p.m. game against No. --/25 Long Beach State (18-7 and playing North Texas tonight).