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March 1, 2005
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Aztecs Host Red Storm, Hit Road Again For Louisville Slugger Classic
The San Diego State softball team returns home briefly for a single game with St. John's, Tuesday at 7 p.m., before hitting the road again for five games at the Louisville Slugger Classic in Tempe, Ariz., hosted by Arizona State.
The Aztecs and the Red Storm have faced off just once, with SDSU claiming an 8-0 win in March 2003. In that game, the Aztecs Bre DeSanta threw a complete-game no-hitter, striking out six and walking only two.
In Tempe, the Aztecs will take on Southern Utah three times (Feb. 4, 2 p.m., Feb. 5, noon, Feb. 6, 9 a.m.) and host Arizona State twice (Feb. 4, 4 p.m., Feb. 5, 3 p.m.). SDSU leads the all-time series with the Thunderbirds 23-6, winning nine of the last 10 games. The Aztecs defeated SUU, 8-0, last season on Celena Velasquez's four-hit shutout.
SDSU hasn't been as strong against the Sun Devils, trailing the all-time series 7-25. The two teams last played in 2001, with ASU claiming a 2-1 win. The Aztecs last win in the series came in 1994, when SDSU and the Sun Devils split a double-header, 4-0, 0-2.
Velasquez Earns Second Pitcher Of The Week Honor Of The Season
San Diego State junior pitcher Celena Velasquez has been named Mountain West Conference softball pitcher of the week. It is the second honor of the season for Velasquez, and eighth of her career.
Velasquez, a Tucson, Ariz., product, went 1-1 in three appearances, including one start, for SDSU at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., last weekend. In her only start of the tournament, she struck out an SDSU school-record 15 batters on the way to a one-hit complete game shutout in the Aztecs' 2-0 win over North Carolina. The 15 strikeouts were just two shy of the NFCA Leadoff Classic all-time record. Velasquez also made relief appearances versus DePaul and Oregon, striking out six batters, while giving up four hits and two earned runs. For the tournament, she struck out 21 batters and gave up two earned runs, while scattering five hits and walking two in 12.2 innings. On the season, Velasquez is 5-1, with three saves, 73 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.06 in 46.1 innings pitched. She currently ranks first in the MWC in strikeouts, opposing batting average (.166) and saves, and is third in wins.
SDSU Struggles In NFCA Classic
San Diego State faced a tough schedule at the NFCA Classic, going 1-3 on the weekend with a 2-0 win over North Carolina and losses to No. 6 Louisiana Lafayette, 3-0, No. 18 Oregon, 3-1, and DePaul, 4-3.
In game one, SDSU had its chances against UL-Lafayette and ace Brooke Mitchell, but the Aztecs stranded six runners, including five in the first three innings, and Mitchell, who had thrown a no-hitter just 20 minutes earlier, finished the rest with 10 strikeouts. Leftfielder Bree Boyer led the SDSU bats with a 2-3 showing, and Hartung forced a pair of walks, but the Aztecs could not get the clutch hits against the All-American. Boyer was good with the glove as well, making a pair of great catches, including robbing the Cajuns of a homerun with a leaping grab against the fence.
Celena Velasquez pitched a one-hit shutout against North Carolina, with a new career and school-high 15 strikeouts, two shy of the NFCA Classic mark, to lead SDSU to victory. The Aztecs and Tarheels were locked in a pitchers duel through three and a half innings, Velasquez with eight strikeouts and one hit allowed and Carolina starter Ashley Allen with a no hitter through three, before SDSU struck in the bottom of the fourth. Meagan Hartung led off and reached on an error to start the rally off, it was followed by an one out single from Taryin Casillas and then came the big blow: a two-out, two-RBI double from Kristen Carranza to put the Aztecs up 2-0. The double marked the third game-winning hit of the season for Carranza, who also accomplished the feat against San Diego and Kentucky earlier this season.
In the first game on Saturday, DePaul was able to use the international tiebreaker rule in the bottom of the eighth to its advantage, defeating San Diego State, 4-3.
The Aztecs went to the bottom of the seventh leading 3-2 but DePaul's Saskia Roberson hit a one-out homerun to leftfield to tie it up. In the top of the eighth, SDSU was unable to take advantage of the tiebreaker, stranding Meagan Hartung at second, while the Blue Demons were able to use a sacrifice bunt and a slow roller to second to score Jessica Evans from third. Casillas led the Aztec offense with a pair of RBI.
In the final game for the Aztecs at the NFCA Classic, SDSU was unable to get any offense going against No. 18 Oregon and pitcher Alicia Cook, falling 3-1.
Oregon got all the offense they needed in the top of the fourth, when the Ducks slammed a pair of doubles and a single, plating two runs and knocking Aztec starter Cori Janelli from the game. Oregon added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on a single and a double.
Newcomers Delight
SDSU newcomers are producing big numbers for the Aztecs this season. With the mix of talented veterans and new players, SDSU has a chance to be really special. This past week, the freshmen accounted for eight of SDSU's 17 hits, three of six runs, five of six RBI and two of three doubles, while committing only one error in 17 combined starts. Freshman Kristen Carranza knocked in the only two SDSU runs with a two-RBI double in the fourth inning of the Aztecs 2-0 victory over North Carolina. It is Carranza's third game-winning hit of the season. Freshman Taryin Casillas continues to push SDSU with a .341 batting average, six doubles and a .634 slugging percentage. She is tied for the team lead in homeruns (two) and is second on the team in RBI (10), and runs scored (nine).
Newcomers are either first or second in 11 different statistical categories, including batting average, runs, hits, doubles, triples, homeruns, RBI, slugging percentage, walks, on-base percentage and total bases. Casillas appears in eight of those categories and Megan McDonald in three.
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 has a 5-1 record with three saves and an 1.06 ERA. She leads the team in appearances (12), strikeouts (73), and opponent batting average (.166), in 46.1 innings of work. Janelli has posted an 1.64 overall ERA this season, including a 5-4 record with 47 strikeouts and 11 earned runs in a team-high 47 innings pitched. Sophomore Katie Cochran is also in the mix with a 1-0 record and a 2.80 ERA. She has 11 strikeouts in 15 innings, including three starts.
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 during 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 6-1 at home allowing only 15 runs in seven games (nine of which came against Oregon State), while SDSU is averaging 5.7, including 16 extra base hits. Over the past three seasons the Aztecs are 52-16, a .764 winning percentage.
Van Wyk Is Winningest Coach In SDSU History
Kathy Van Wyk is the winningest coach in SDSU history with a 282-212-1 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 2004 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.