Feb. 8, 2005
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Aztecs Open Up 2005 In Championship Fashion
San Diego State opened up its 29th season of softball competition with a bang, winning all five games in the Aztec Invitational, held Feb. 4-6 at the SDSU softball field. On Friday, the Aztecs dominated Saint Mary's, 8-2, and UC Davis, 8-0, behind strong pitching from Cori Janelli and Celena Velasquez, plus the best two-game offensive performance since a 2002 doubleheader at San Diego (8-0, 10-0).
On Saturday SDSU pulled out a 3-2 win against No. 19/20 Long Beach State and a 5-1 victory over UC Riverside. Velasquez picked up the save against the 49ers and then came back in nightcap and threw a complete-game win over the Highlanders, picking up a career-high 12 strikeouts in the process. Freshman Taryin Casillas hit what proved to be the winning homerun in the top of the seventh, the first of her career, and netted two of the Aztecs' three RBI.
In the final day of the Invitational, SDSU once again had a dominating performance and won the tournament title in a convincing 9-1 win over Saint Mary's. Sophomore transfer Katie Cochran picked up the win for the Aztecs in her first start, and Casillas picked up a pair of doubles and two RBI.
SDSU On The Road For A Six-Pack
Aztec softball hits the road this week for a six-game swing, it's largest stretch of games away from home this season. First up for SDSU is a midweek trip to crosstown rival Univ. of San Diego, Wednesday at 6 p.m. Following the game with the Toreros, the Aztecs will depart for Palo Alto, Calif. and the Stanford Tournament. Opponents scheduled for the tournament include Kentucky, host No. 6 Stanford, DePaul, recent foe No. 21 Long Beach State and Cal Poly.
Aztecs Earn Mountain West Softball Player And Pitcher of the Week
San Diego State freshman third baseman Taryin Casillas and junior right-hander Celena Velasquez have been named Mountain West Conference softball player and pitcher of the week, respectively. It is the seventh career weekly honor for Velasquez and the first for Casillas.
Casillas, a San Diego native, earned her first career player of the week honor with her performance at the Aztec Invitational last weekend. She went 7-for-14 (.500) from the plate, with a home run, four doubles, five RBI and four runs scored, helping the Aztecs to their best record to start to a season (5-0) since 1993. Casillas had multiple hits in three of the four games she played, including a 2-for-3 performance against No. 20 Long Beach State. In SDSU's 3-2 victory over the 49ers, she drove in two runs, including the game-winner on a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning. Casillas followed with another 2-for-3 performance at the plate versus UC Riverside, with a double, run scored and an RBI, and concluded the tournament with a 2-for-4, two-double, two-RBI effort against Saint Mary's. Defensively, she went errorless at third base with 10 assists and four putouts.
Velasquez, a junior from Tucson, Ariz., posted a 2-0 record and a save in three appearances in the tournament. In 13.1 innings on the mound, she pitched two compete-game shutouts, giving up no earned runs and striking out 19, while allowing nine hits and one walk. She started the tournament with a six-strikeout, complete-game shutout versus UC Davis. In the Aztecs' victory over No. 20 Long Beach State, Velasquez came on in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and the tying run on third to strike out the potential winning run in three pitches. She followed with a complete-game shutout of UC Riverside, striking out a career-high 12 batters and scattering four hits.
Newcomers Delight
SDSU newcomers are producing big numbers for the Aztecs this season. With the mix of the talented veterans and the new players SDSU has a chance to be really special. In the Aztec Invitational, the freshman accounted for 20 of SDSU's 47 hits, 20 of 33 runs, 18 of 30 RBI, 2 of 3 homeruns and 7 of 11 doubles. Sophomore transfer Katie Cochran is proving to be a solid third option at pitcher with a terrific Sunday performance including six innings of work, with three strikeouts and zero earned runs.
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, already this season has a 2-0 record with a save and an 0.00 ERA. She leads the team in appearances (3), innings pitched (13.1), strikeouts (19) and has given up a team-low one walk. Janelli posted an 1.20 overall ERA with a pair of wins, including over No. 19 Long Beach State. She has 13 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched, with two walks and two earned runs. Sopomore Katie Cochran is also in the mix at pitcher with a 1-0 record and a 1.75 ERA. She has seven strikeouts in 8.0 innings of work, including one start.
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 is fifth and on base percentage is second best in Aztec history.
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.
So far this season the Aztecs are 5-0 at home allowing only 1.2 runs per game while SDSU is averaging 6.6, including 16 extra base hits. Including the two previous season the Aztecs are 51-15, a .772 winning percentage.
Van Wyk Is Winningest Coach In SDSU History
Kathy Van Wyk is the winningest coach in SDSU history with a 276-207-1 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.
2005 Start Is With Best Ever For Aztec Softball
The SDSU softball team is 5-0 this season, the best start since the 1993 edition went 6-0 to open the season and the second fastest all-time. Among the wins this season is a victory over No. 19 Long Beach State, the first victory over a nationally ranked team for the Aztecs since an 11-2 win over then No. 21 Oklahoma State in the 2004 Aztec Invitational.
About the 49ers (No. 21 ESPN.com/USA Softball)
Long Beach State opened the 2005 season with four wins and a loss in the SDSU Aztec Invitational. The Aztecs are 18-43 all-time against the 49ers, but are 6-4 in the last 10 meetings, 6-2 in the last eight.
The 49ers return the 2004 Big West co-Pitchers of the Year in Meredith Cervenka and Marcel Torres. Cervenka has posted a 2-1 record this season, a 2.80 ERA and 13 strikeouts in 15 innings pitched. Torres is off to a 2-0 start with a 2-0 record and an 0.00 ERA. She has 17 strikeouts in 11 innings of work.
On offense LBSU has Melanie McCauley to provide the firepower. She has a .529 average with a homerun, three doubles and seven RBI.
About the Cardinal (No. 6 ESPN.com/USA Softball)
Stanford opened the season with three straight wins by a combined score of 33-4 before falling 4-3 to Pacific in the final of the Stanford Classic. The Aztecs hold a 10-7 record in the all-time series with the Cardinal. SDSU and Stanford split the most recent series in 2003
The Cadinal are led in the circle by Laura Severson, who has a 2-1 record with an 1.56 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 18 innings.
Leading Stanford in hitting is Lauren Lappin who has a .692 average with 2 doubles and 2 homeruns, driving in 7 and scoring 7.
About the Toreros
San Diego split a series with UC San Diego this past weekend 5-2, 0-4. SDSU leads the all-time series with the Toreros 38-0. Last season the Aztecs were victorious 7-1.
The top pitcher for San Diego is Erin Harmonson, who is 1-0 with four strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
In the young 2005 season, Ashlee Nunes is leading San Diego with a .600 batting average, including two RBI and two runs scored.
About the Wildcats
Kentucky had a rough opening to the 2005 season, losing all five of its season-opening games. This will be the first meeting between the schools, although SDSU is 2-4 all-time against the SEC.
The Wildcat's pitching is anchored by Samantha Allen, who has an 0-2 record with a 3.20 ERA in 19.2 innings of work.
Meghan Cooper paces Kentucky's offense with a .462 average, including a triple and three RBI.
About the Blue Demons
Depaul has opened up the season with a successful 3-2 record including a win over No. 12 Oklahoma. In the brief series with SDSU, the Blue Demons hold a slim 2-0 lead.
Tracie Adix is off to a tremendous start for DePaul, sporting a 3-0 record, a miniscule 0.89 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.
Dan Kenney is the top hitter for the Blue Demons, with a .538 batting average and three runs scored.
About the Mustangs
Cal Poly got off to a hot 5-2 start this past weekend, defeating Colorado State and Arkansas in the process. SDSU leads the all-time series with the Mustangs 12-5.