March 7, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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Aztecs To Host Cal State Fullerton, Virginia This Weekend
Off to a 13-4 start and its best start in school history, the San Diego State softball team continues its long home stand with a pair of doubleheaders this weekend against Cal State Fullerton (4 p.m. Friday) and Virginia (1 p.m. Saturday). The Aztecs, who are receiving votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate and USA Today/NFCA national polls, have won eight of their last nine games and are 11-3 at SDSU Stadium this season.
Last Week With The Aztecs
SDSU won four of its five games last week, including two against then-No. 23 Oregon. The Aztecs defeated San Diego, 8-0, on Wednesday for their 42nd win in 43 tries against the cross town rival and went on to finish with the best record (3-1) at the five-team Aztec Classic. SDSU's other win (besides Oregon) in the Aztec Classic came against Loyola Marymount (W, 7-2). Fresno State downed the Aztecs, 11-0, in their other game.
Aztecs Receiving Votes In National Poll
SDSU is receiving votes in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate poll. The Aztecs currently have three votes, good enough for 33rd in the nation, one vote behind Missouri (four votes) and one ahead of Florida, South Carolina and Georgia Tech.
Seven teams that SDSU originally had on the schedule are either ranked or receiving votes in the poll, including No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 California, No. 16 Northwestern, No. 25 Fresno State, No. 27 Brigham Young, No. 30 Cal State Fullerton and No. 31 Oregon.
The Future Is Now
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.
However, the Aztec underclassmen have already proved their worth as evident by the statistics. After 17 games, eight of the top nine batters (with at least 26 official at-bats) are underclassmen.
The freshmen and sophomores are batting .284 (99-for-348). The underclassmen also have 83.7 percent of the RBI (72 of 86), 83.3 percent of the home runs (10 of 12), 77.2 percent of the total bases (146 of 189) and have scored 76.6 percent of the runs (72 of 94).
In addition, the underclassmen's earned run average of 0.78 is 2.3 runs lower than the juniors and seniors (3.08), while their opponent's batting average of .202 is much lower than upperclassmen's average of .275.
In Ross We Trust
If you didn't know who sophomore LHP Christina Ross was before she came to The Mesa, you do now. A transfer from Big 12 power Kansas, Ross has already become one of the dominant pitchers in the Mountain West Conference.
Ross began the season with 11 1/3 innings of scoreless ball before being charged with an earned run in SDSU's 2-1 loss to No. 2 UCLA. So far this season, the Santa Clarita, Calif., native is 5-3 with a 0.93 ERA in 45.0 innings. She also has two saves and has recorded 34 strikeouts, while limiting opponents to a .204 batting average when she is in the circle.
Ross made her debut in a relief role in SDSU's 9-4 win over Cal Poly on Feb. 9. She tossed 2 1/3 perfect innings and recorded two strikouts to pick up her first save as an Aztec.
On Feb. 11 versus Massachusetts, Ross kept the Minutewomen guessing all day en route to the complete game shutout and 1-0 SDSU victory. Ross gave up five hits, one walk and struck out five in her first start at SDSU, and did not allow an UMass runner to reach third base.
Ross also pitched two innings against second-ranked UCLA, where she allowed her first earned run of the season on four hits.
She followed up the Bruin game with a complete game shutout against San Diego, where she struck out seven and did not allow an opposing player past second base.
Ross went the distance for SDSU and struck out five batters in its 5-1 win over Long Beach State. She did not allow an earned run and gave up only four hits.
Two games later against Kentucky, Ross came on in relief with runners on second and third with one out, and struck out consecutive batters to get out of the jam. She struck out four over the final 1 2/3 innings and allowed just one hit to pick up her second save of the season.
Against then-No. 23 Oregon in the Aztec Classic, Ross struck out five, allowed five hits and one unearned run in 5.0 innings. She tossed the final 3.0 innings against the Ducks in their second meeting in three days to pick up the win after giving up just three hits and an unearned run, while striking out two.
As of March 7, Ross ranks second among the Mountain West Conference pitching leaders with a 0.93 ERA. She is also tied for first with two saves, tied for fourth with five wins, fifth in opponents batting average (.204), eighth with 34 strikeouts and ninth with 45.0 innings pitched.
Back On Track
Senior center fielder Meagan Hartung seems to be back on track and on pace for another great season.
Hartung struggled offensively in the 2005 campaign after having one of the best seasons in recent memory in 2004. In the 2004 campaign, Hartung batted .364 with 13 doubles and a .462 on base percentage. Her 28 walks tied for the most in school history and the 13 doubles finished one short of tying the school record of 14, shared by Tiffany Goudy (2002), Kellie Nordhagen (2000) and Shanon Pouelsen (1994). The 64 hits rank fifth in the SDSU single-season record book and her .364 average ranked her third on the school record chart. Her .462 on-base percentage tied the school record with Trish Mang's 1998 mark and the 37 runs scored is third in Aztec record book.
In 2006, the San Diego native is batting .308 (16-for-52) and has already set a season high with her seven stolen bases, third in the Mountain West Conference. She is also tied for third in the league with 15 runs.
Hartung's career marks are also impressive. Her .296 career batting average is eighth on SDSU's all-time list. She is also ranked among the all-time Aztec greats in on base percentage (4th, .374), runs (7th, 69), doubles (7th, 21), slugging percentage (8th, .385) and walks (10th, 45).
Click on the PDF release for a comparison of what Hartung did in 2004 and her projected totals of the 2006 season based on the first 17 games.
A Super-Sized Performance
After only earning four at-bats (1-for-4, .250) in SDSU's first four games, Megan McDonald went on a tear over her next three contests. The sophomore batted .778 (7-for-9) with a home run and seven RBI as the Aztecs went 2-1 during the stretch. At one point, she reached base safely on seven consecutive plate appearances.
The Glendale, Ariz., native went 3-for-3 with an RBI in SDSU's 5-0 win over San Diego on Feb. 15. She followed that game up with one for the record books. McDonald finished 3-for-3 with an Aztec single-game record six RBI in a SDSU 20-2 win over Rider on Feb. 17 at the UC Santa Barbara Invitational. Three of the RBI came on a three-run home run with two outs in the third. She also earned a bases-loaded walk in the inning. With her sixth career home run in the Rider game, McDonald moved into a tie for ninth place on the SDSU all-time list. On the same day, McDonald singled in the Aztecs' 3-2 loss at host UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.
McDonald now has enough official at-bats to qualify among the Mountain West Conference leaders and is ninth with a .359 average. Her .458 on base percentage is sixth in the league and her slugging percentage (.590) ranks 10th. McDonald is also ranked among the league leaders with three home runs (tied-6th) and 12 RBI (tied-eighth).
They Call Me Clutch
Freshman first baseman Monica Alnes is off to an impressive start to the season. Alnes has played 16 of SDSU's 17 games this season and has earned starts in all 16 appearances. She is third on the team in batting .340 (16-for-47), second with 13 runs scored and tied for first with 12 RBI. In addition, her 12 hits are tied for the team lead with senior Meagan Hartung and sophomore Taryin Casillas.
Alnes is also ranked among the Mountain West Conference leaders in stolen bases (tied-6th, 4), RBI (tied-8th, 12), runs scored (9th, 13) and doubles (tied-9th, 4).
What might be even more impressive is her ability to come through in the clutch. Alnes is batting a team-high .400 (10-for-25) with runners on base and a SDSU-best .450 with runners in scoring position. Alnes also leads the squad with her six two-out RBI and two hits with the bases loaded.
Taryin It Up In The Batter's Box
Sophomore Taryin Casillas is off to another good start in her second season on The Mesa. Through the 16 games (and 15 starts) she has played this season, the third baseman is second on the team (at least 17 at-bats) with a .356 batting average (16-for-45). Her 16 hits are tied for the team lead with two others and her four doubles are tied for second on the team. Casillas is tied for ninth in the Mountain West with her four doubles, and is 10th in both batting average (.356) and on base percentage (.420).
Casillas has hit safely in 12 of the 15 games she has started and had a career-long six-game hitting streak from Feb. 23-March 1.
Owens Owns All
Freshman Melissa Owens has turned out to be one of the top pitchers, not only on the team, but in the Mountain West Conference. Owens has started four games for the Aztecs this season and is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA in 18.0 innings of work. She has struck out 21 batters and has walked only one batter for a spectacular 21-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Among the Mountain West pitching leaders, Owens is first in ERA (0.39) and second in opponent batting average (.197).
Owens earned her first start in a game against then No. 2 UCLA. The San Diego native went 3.0 innings and struck out four batters, while allowing three hits and one run. Owens has tossed 15 2/3 innings of scoreless ball since the Bruin game (Feb. 12). Owens pitched 12 days later in a 8-0 rout by the Aztecs over Wagner. She tossed all 5.0 innings, gave up four hits and struck out seven batters. Against the Toreros last Wednesday, Owens tossed a one-hit, complete game shutout (6.0 innings) and struck out a career-high eight batters. On Saturday, in a 7-2 SDSU win over Loyola Marymount, Owens threw 4.0 scoreless innings and struck out two.
Owens has also done well at the plate for the Aztecs in the 2006 campaign. She is currently batting .286 (12-for-42) and is tied for third on the team with nine runs scored. Her four stolen bases are tied for fourth in the league.
Can't Touch This
The Aztec pitching staff is off to another fine start. Through 17 games, the SDSU hurlers are 13-4 with a 1.80 ERA, best in the Mountain West Conference. The staff is also ranked first in the league in saves (4), fewest walks allowed per game (0.88), strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.6) and WHIP (Walks + hits/innings pitched) at 1.04.
Opponents are only hitting .236 off the Aztecs, second-lowest in the MWC, and their .765 winning percentage is the highest in the league.
Against No. 2 UCLA on Feb. 12, SDSU held the Bruins, who came into the game averaging 13.0 runs per game, to their then lowest run total of the year in a 2-1 loss. In UCLA's previous four games, it had scored 22, 13, nine and eight runs, respectively. The Bruins didn't get their second run of the game until the sixth inning.
After allowing four runs in their first game of the season against Cal Poly (W, 9-4), the Aztecs gave up only 18 runs over their next 14 games (1.29 runs per game) before being shutout by No. 25 Fresno State, 11-0. Included in the 14-game streak is five shutouts.
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 Cal State Fullerton
The Titans come into their game against the Aztecs with a 11-10 record. However, that record is deceiving considering they have played 10 games against ranked opponents. In those games, they are 4-6 with wins over then-No. 17 Fresno State (W, 5-4), then-No. 6 California (W, 1-0), then-No. 8 Texas A&M (W, 6-5) and then-No. 11 Georgia (W, 3-2).
Amanda Kamekona leads Cal State Fullerton with a .351 (26-for-74) batting average. She also has tallied five doubles, two triples and three home runs. Kiki Munoz (.348) and Jenna Wheeler (.333) are the other top batters for the Titans, while Ashley Van Boxmeer (.230) leads the squad with five home runs and 17 RBI.
Cal State Fullerton has also boasted strong pitching, especially considering their competition. Candice Baker has already pitched 71 2/3 innings and is 8-3 with a 2.83 ERA. Marizza Marzan (2-2, 2.26 ERA) has also pitched well for the Titans.
Cal State Fullerton has dominated the series between the two schools with a 45-10 overall record. However, SDSU won its last meeting by a score of 2-0 on March 11, 2005, in Fullerton.
In last year's game, pitcher Celena Velasquez struck out seven batters and allowed just three hits in earning her fifth shutout of the year. SDSU used a pair of walks, a stolen base, an error, and a wild pitch to score Erin Mahoney in the top of the first inning, and it added another in the sixth on an RBI double by Bree Boyer.
The Aztecs were led at the plate by Allison Smith who was 2-for-3 with a walk. Boyer, Megan McDonald and Tamani Wells also had a hit.
A Preview Of Virginia
The Cavaliers are off to a 11-4 start and have won five of their last six games. Amy McKean (.343, 4 HR, 13 RBI), Michelle Salmiery (.341, 8 RBI) and Erin Horn (.306, 7 R) are all hitting above .300, while Sara Larquier and Jackie Greer have stolen seven and six bases, respectively.
Horn (3-2) is also Virginia's top pitcher with a 1.59 ERA and 38 strikeouts.
The Cavaliers have won four straight in the series and own a 4-1 all-time record against SDSU. The last meeting between the two schools was March 1, 1998, a 4-2 Virginia win.