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Feb. 1, 2005
SAN DIEGO-
Aztecs Set To Open 2005 Season
San Diego State opens up its 29th season of softball competition, Friday, Feb. 4, against Saint Mary's in the Aztec Invitational. Game time is set for 4:30 p.m at the SDSU softball field. The event is set to run Feb. 4-6, and also features the Aztecs taking on UC Davis (Feb. 4, 7 p.m.), Long Beach State (Feb. 5, 4:30 p.m.), Saint Mary's (Feb. 5, 7 p.m.) and UC Riverside (Feb. 6, 2 p.m.). SDSU is 7-1 in season-opening games under head coach Kathy Van Wyk.
Friday Night Lights
The Aztecs will play their first ever night game at the SDSU softball field Friday night in game five of the Aztec Invitational against UC Davis at 7 p.m.
The reason for the lighting is the incomplete status of the SDSU Softball Stadium, which will be ready for service Feb. 17, for the Campbell/Cartier Classic.
Pitching Staff Among The Best In Nation
Two-time Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Celena Velasquez and senior Cori Janelli are back to lead an excellent Aztec pitching staff. Velasquez, a junior, led the league with an 0.85 ERA in MWC games, while compiling an 1.39 ERA in all contests. She had five saves, good for 15th in the nation. She also lead the team in wins (16), appearances (38) and strikeouts (101). Janelli posted an 1.26 overall ERA, tops in the MWC. She had a team best 22 games started, .215 opponent batting average and just 10 walks. She also allowed a team-low 10 walks, three doubles, no triples and two homeruns allowed.
Aztecs Tough At Home
Last season the Aztecs were 22-9 at home, including two-game sweeps of No. 21 Oklahoma State and Mississippi State, plus conference opponents Colorado State, New Mexico, and UNLV. SDSU was also 7-3 in San Diego in MWC play. The last two seasons combined, the Aztecs were 46-15, a .754 winning percentage, the most home wins by any team in the MWC.
Mighty Meagan
Junior shortstop Meagan Hartung led the 2004 Aztecs in batting average (.364), on base percentage (.462), runs (37), hits (64), doubles (13) and triples (2). Her outstanding season showed up in numerous places on the SDSU single-season charts, including top-five finishes in batting average (3rd), runs (t-3rd), hits (5th), doubles (4h), walks (t-1st), and on-base percentage (t-1st). Already her career batting average and on base percentage are second best in Aztec history.
Van Wyk Is Winningest Coach In SDSU History
Kathy Van Wyk is the winningest coach in SDSU history with a 271-207-1 record. She broke Linda Spradley's (1984-94) win total of 253 on March 21, 2004 when the Aztecs topped Buffalo, 6-0. The two served as co-head coaches from 1995-96 and compiled a 48-69 mark. Under Van Wyk's leadership, SDSU has advanced to its only two NCAA tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003. The 2001 squad went 3-2 and advanced to the regional championship against host UCLA, while the 2003 team was 1-2 in tourney action.
Coaches Select San Diego State To Win 2005 Mountain West Softball Championship
For the third straight season, the San Diego State Aztecs have been selected to win the Mountain West Conference softball title in a vote by the league coaches. SDSU, BYU and Colorado State each received two first-place votes.
San Diego State, winners of two of the last three regular-season championships (2002, 2003), collected 22 points to capture the top spot in the poll. Mountain West Conference 2004 regular season champion Colorado State and BYU tallied 20 points apiece to place second in the poll, followed by 2004 MWC tournament champion Utah (12 points), New Mexico and UNLV (eight points each).
The Aztecs, coming off a 37-23 overall record (14-6 MWC) and a second-place finish in the MWC championship, return 10 letterwinners this season, including 2004 Pitcher of the Year Celena Velasquez. This season's edition of SDSU softball also returns Velasquez, all-MWC shortstop Megan Hartung, senior pitcher Cori Janelli, senior catcher Danielle Touhey, senior first baseman Lacey Craft, senior outfielder Erin Mahoney and one of the strongest softball recruiting classes to step foot on Montezuma Mesa.
SDSU Softball Signs Three Southern California Prep Standouts
San Diego State softball head coach Kathy Van Wyk announced the Nov. signing of three southern California high school seniors, including two from the San Diego-area, to national letters of intent. Joining the Aztecs in the fall of 2005 are catcher Erin Floros (San Diego, Calif.), pitcher/shortstop Melissa Owens (El Cajon, Calif.) and pitcher/infielder Monica Alnes (Palos Verdes, Calif.).
Floros is a three-year starter and letterwinner from Mt. Carmel High School. She earned first team all-CIF honors in 2004, and led the Sundevil's to a pair of Avocado League championships. In her junior campaign, Floros was the Avocado League Player of the Year and a member of the Union-Tribune all-academic first team with a 3.89 GPA. She is a 2004 recipient of the Coca-Cola Golden Glove award, as well as being a nominee for Mt. Carmel's athlete-of-the- year award. Last season, Floros led the Sundevils with a .440 batting average, while driving in 23 runs. In 2003, she hit .357 with 22 RBI. Floros chose the Aztecs over Washington, Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
Owens is a two-time all-state pitcher for Christian High School, where she was the east county strikeout leader in 2004, with 247 in 121 innings pitched. She owns the east county 2003 and 2004 home run records with seven homeruns and eight homeruns respectively, as well as the 2004 batting title with a gaudy .579 average. In 2004 she was named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA all-region team, and was the Eastern League's pitcher of the year. Owens led the Patriots to the 2002 and 2004 CIF Division IV championship and a runner-up finish in 2003. She is a two-time most valuable player at Christian High School and holds the school's all-time record for strikeouts in a game with 20.
Alnes is a three-time all-Bay League pitcher for Palos Verdes Peninsula High School in the Los Angeles area. She was 15-9 last season in the circle with 185 strikeouts in 172 innings and an ERA of 0.81. She was named to the 2004 all-CIF Division II team, following her outstanding junior campaign. A three-time all-Daily Breeze award-winner, Alnes was a top hitter in 2004 for the Panthers, holding a .304 batting average with three HR and 17 RBI. As a sophomore, she posted a 14-10 record for Peninsula, notching a 0.83 ERA.
About the 49ers
The 2004 Long Beach State squad posted the best record in school history with a 51-13 mark overall and an 18-5 record in the Big West, finishing No. 19 in the nation in the final NFCA coaches poll. They finished 3-2 at the 2004 NCAA regional at UCLA.
• The 49ers return the 2004 Big West co-Pitchers of the Year in Meredith Cervenka and Marcel Torres. Cervenka posted a 20-6 record with a team-high 158 strikeouts and a team-low 1.14 ERA. Torres had an outstanding year as well, going 14-3 with a 1.26 ERA and 101 strikeouts.
• On offense LBSU has BYU transfer Oli Keohohou in to pack the firepower. In her three seasons at BYU, Keohohou grabbed three first-team All-American honors and hit 55 homeruns.
About the Aggies
UC Davis had an even 2004 season, 26-26 overall in fact, in their first season at the Division I level.
• The Aggies welcome back RHP Lindsay Tognetti, who put up strong numbers for UC Davis, including a 6-5 record with a 2.43 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 83.2 innings.
• The top returning hitter for the Aggies is OF Jenna Cresta, who put up a .271 average, five doubles, one triple, three homeruns and 12 RBI.
About the Gaels
Saint Mary's struggled to a 13-43 record, 5-15 in the conference last season, but are looking to start hot in 2005.
• The Gaels lost their top two pitchers from last season, but return a young a talented arm in Kate Albaugh, who had a 0-4 record with a 5.19 ERA in 27 innings pitched.
• Saint Mary's top returning hitter this season is Claudia Williams, who put up a solid .258 average with 10 doubles, five homeruns and 26 RBI.
About the Highlanders
UC Riverside had a tough 2004 campaign, finishing the season with a 13-50 record, 3-18 in the Big West Conference.
• The Highlanders return second-leading pitcher Kimberly Dillon to the circle, where she posted a 6-15 record with a 5.65 ERA in 112.2 innings of work.
• Riverside returns powerful 1B/3B Melissa Sanchez, who paced the Highlanders with a .369 average, seven homeruns, 12 doubles and 34 RBI.
Aztecs Prepare for Full Day of Action on February 5
Aztec fans can watch and participate in a full day of fun on Montezuma Mesa on Feb. 5.
The Saturday of activity will get going at 1 p.m. as the SDSU baseball team plays host to Texas at Tony Gwynn Stadium. A perennial national power, Texas advanced to the 2004 NCAA College World Series game and is ranked No. 1 in Collegiate Baseball's Preseason Poll and Sports Weekly/ESPN Preseason Coaches Poll
At 2 p.m., the Aztec women's tennis team plays host to Texas Tech. The softball team faces Long Beach State (4:30 p.m.) and UC Riverside (7 p.m.) in games that are part of the Aztec Invitational, which gets under way at 9 a.m. Friday, Feb. 4.
Sandwiched between the athletic events is the Aztec Insider, an annual event held to give the public a chance to listen to and interact with various SDSU coaches and administrators. This year, Aztec football head coach Tom Craft, basketball head coach Steve Fisher, baseball coach Tony Gwynn and SDSU Director of Athletics Mike Bohn will be four of the featured speakers in the event, which will be held at Peterson Gym. The doors will open at 4:30 p.m., with the event set to begin at 5 p.m.
The busy day concludes at Cox Arena when the Aztec men's basketball team meets No. 25 Utah, which is in the midst of a 12-game winning streak, in a Mountain West Conference showdown slated for 7:05 p.m.