Feb. 8, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs To Open 2006 Season At 16th Annual Campbell-Cartier Classic
San Diego State opens its 30th season of softball competition on Thursday, Feb. 9 against Cal Poly in the 16th annual Campbell-Cartier Classic. Gametime is set for 5 p.m. at SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs will play four other games in the Classic, including contests vs. No. 7 California (Feb. 10, 7 p.m.), Massachusetts (Feb. 11, 11 a.m.), Oklahoma State (Feb. 11, 3 p.m.) and No. 2 UCLA (Feb. 12, 1 p.m.).
SDSU has had great success in season-opening games, including an impressive 8-1 (.889) record in lid lifters under 10th-year head coach Kathy Van Wyk. The Aztecs have won five straight season-opening contests with their last loss coming against Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 5 of the 2000 campaign. Since records were first kept in 1980, SDSU is 17-9 (.654) in its opening games.
Opening the season at home hasn't been as kind for the Aztecs as they are 13-13 (.500) in their first home contest of the season. However, SDSU has won its last three opening games on The Mesa.
Coaches Select SDSU To Finish Third In Mountain West Conference
Head softball coaches from the Mountain West Conference have predicted San Diego State to finish third in the league in 2006. The Aztecs finished with 16 points, behind defending regular season champion Brigham Young (23) and UNLV (22). Colorado State (14), Utah (eight) and New Mexico (seven) rounded out the voting.
SDSU returns 13 letterwinners and seven starters, including two-time MWC Pitcher of the Year and three-time all-MWC selection Celena Velasquez, from a 2005 team that finished 27-30 overall.
A Glance At the Aztecs
Celena Velasquez returns for her final season on The Mesa, looking to cement her legacy as the best pitcher to ever wear an Aztec uniform. In 2005, she became the first SDSU softball player to be named to the all-MWC team and the all-MWC academic team for three consecutive years. Velasquez went 14-12 with a 1.19 ERA, 26th-lowest in the nation and her six saves put her eighth in the country. Of all MWC pitchers, Velasquez ranked first in ERA, opponent batting average (.174), strikeouts (211) and saves (6). She set a SDSU all-time single season record in combined shutouts (12), solo shutouts (10), strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.05), strikeouts, saves and opponent batting average.
Kristen Carranza returns for her second season after leading the Aztecs in numerous hitting categories, including games played (56), games started (54), runs (18), hits (45), triples (3), RBI (22), total bases (61), HBP (6) and on-base percentage (.368).
Some of the other returning category leaders include sophomores Taryin Casillas (home runs (4) and slugging percentage (.410)), Megan McDonald (home runs (4) and walks (12)) and Allison Smith (doubles (9)).
Youth Is Served
With eight freshmen and seven sophomores, the Aztecs are the second-youngest team in the Mountain West Conference. Fifteen of the 22 players (68.2 percent) on the SDSU roster are underclassmen, trailing only UNLV (16 of 21/76.2 percent).
Preseason favorite Brigham Young is the most experienced team as 12 of its 21 players (57.1 percent) are either juniors or seniors.
Scouting Cal Poly
The Mustangs return 10 letterwinners from a 2005 team that went 35-16 and 15-6 in the Big West Conference. All 10 returners started at least 14 games a year ago.
The Aztecs are 12-6 all-time against Cal Poly, but have lost three of its last four meetings. Last season, SDSU fell to the Mustangs by a score of 5-2 in the final game of the Stanford Invitational on Feb. 13. Allison Smith was 2-for-3 for the Aztecs and Meagan Hartung had an RBI single.
A Look At California
The 2005 season was a memorable on for the Golden Bears as they went 53-13 and advanced to the Women's College World Series. Cal finished the season with a final ESPN national ranking of No. 6. However, the Bears did lose four starters and 11 letterwinners.
SDSU has won only one of the nine meetings between the schools and that win came on March 22, 1983 (2-0) in San Diego.
Scouting Umass
UMass went 37-16-1 in 2005 under then 25th-year head coach Elaine Sortino. The Minutewomen finished 13-3 in the Atlantic 10 before falling in the NCAA Regionals. But this year's squad is returning 12 letterwinners, including seven starters.
The top returner is senior catcher KJ Kelly, who batted .382 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI in 2005. Other top returning batters include sophomore outfielder Lauren Proctor (.322, 3 HR, 31 RBI) and sophomore infielder Stacy Cullington (.311, 7 HR, 25 RBI). UMass also returns senior pitcher Jenna Busa, who went 17-6 with a 1.96 ERA in 2005.
SDSU and UMass have only met on three occasions with the Minutewomen holding a 2-1 advantage. In the last meeting on Feb. 24, 2001, the Aztecs took a 1-0 victory, their only win at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga.
A Glance At Oklahoma State
The Cowgirls are coming off a 35-24 season in 2005, including a 11-6 record in the always competitive Big 12. They also advanced to the NCAA Regionals a season ago. Oklahoma State returns 12 letterwinners, seven starters and three pitchers from the 2005 squad.
As much success as the Cowgirls have had, it hasn't been on SDSU's watch. The Aztecs own a 4-0 record all-time, including an nine-run win on Feb. 14, 2004, at the Aztec Invitational. In that game, San Diego State scored in every inning of its 11-2, five-inning mercy-rule victory over Oklahoma State, which was ranked No. 21 by ESPN.com/USA Today and No. 24 by USA Today/NFCA. Hartung went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Aztecs.
Scouting UCLA
The Bruins, one of the most successful teams in NCAA history, are ranked No. 2 in the ESPN/USA Softball preseason poll after finishing 40-20 in 2005 before falling in the Women's College World Series game. The Bruins have won a remarkable 10 NCAA Championships and have an astonishing overall record of 1,288-273-4 (.823). UCLA returns 16 letterwinners from last year's squad and only lost one to graduation. All nine starters return, as well as its two best pitchers.
The Bruins have won all 43 meetings between the two teams, including a pair of victories in the 2004 season. In a 1-0, 10-inning loss to UCLA, on March 6, Hartung had one of the Aztecs' two hits in the game. On Feb. 8, SDSU actually outhit the Bruins, 6-5, but fell by a final score of 6-2. Hartung and current senior Bree Boyer each had singles for the Aztecs.
San Diego State Softball Signs Brittany Knudsen
San Diego State softball head coach Kathy Van Wyk has announced the signing of Brittany Knudsen to a National Letter of Intent. Knudsen is a senior at Escondido High School and has played three seasons for the San Diego Renegades Club team.
An Escondido, Calif., native, Knudsen led the Valley League during her junior season with a .479 batting average and .515 on-base percentage. For her efforts, she garnered first-team all-league honors and was named to the all-CIF second team.
Knudsen, a scholar-athlete, also played tennis and soccer for the Cougars. In tennis, she received first-team all-conference accolades two straight years, and is went 36-1 last season and was ranked No. 1 in the Valley League.