May 7, 2006
San Diego State 8, Utah 3
San Diego State 5, Utah 4
SAN DIEGO - Senior Bree Boyer singled home freshman Melissa Owens in the bottom of the sixth inning to give the San Diego State softball team a 5-4 come-from-behind win and doubleheader sweep over Utah at SDSU Softball Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Aztecs (30-11, 15-3 Mountain West Conference) won the first game, 8-3, to earn their third MWC regular season championship in the last five seasons.
Freshman Erin Floros went 5-for-6 and scored five runs over the two games to lead the SDSU offense. Sophomore Chrissie Markham was 3-for-5 with four RBI, and freshman Monica Alnes and senior Meagan Hartung each added three hits.
In the second game, the Aztecs got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first when Hartung hit her second home run of the season.
After the Utes (34-18, 10-8 MWC) tied the game at 1-1 in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jessica Shiery, SDSU answered in the bottom half of the frame with an RBI double by sophomore Tamani Wells.
Utah took a 4-2 lead in the fifth off a three-run homer by Diana Phillips, but the Aztecs rallied for three runs in the sixth and held on to the 5-4 win. Floros singled to leadoff the inning and Alnes singled two batters later. After a fly out, Owens walked to load the bases. Markham blooped a single to right field to score Floros and Alnes to tie the game at 4. Boyer singled on the next pitch to score Owens with the game-winning run.
Hartung (RBI, two runs) and Floros (run) each had two hits to lead the offense.
Alnes (3-0) earned the win after pitching two scoreless innings. She replaced senior Celena Velasquez, who allowed four runs on six hits in the first five innings.
In the first game, SDSU scored at least one run in each of the first four innings en route to an 8-3 victory.
Floros went 3-for-3 with two RBI and a career-high four runs to pace the offense. Markham, who missed the previous nine games with a sprained right foot, homered in her first at-bat and drove in two runs, while Alnes had two hits and three RBI. Sophomore Megan McDonald also had two hits, including an RBI single in the first.
Sophomore Christina Ross picked up the win for the Aztecs after giving up three runs (two earned) and seven hits. She struck out six and walked only one batter. On the season, Ross is 14-7 with a 1.38 ERA.
SDSU will be the No. 1 seed in the MWC Championships, which will be played in Las Vegas, Nev., from Thursday through Saturday. The Aztecs will have a bye in the double-elimination tournament, and will play the winner of fourth-seeded UNLV and fifth-seeded Colorado State at 7 p.m. Thursday.
San Diego State 8, Utah 3 (Game 1)
Utah - 000 030 0 - 3 7 0
San Diego State - 211 202 x - 8 10 1
Cannon, Shrock (4) and Hoffman; Ross and Floros
WP: Ross (14-7); LP: Cannon (17-7)
HR: UT - Shiery (1); SD - Markham (2)
San Diego State 5, Utah 4 (Game 2)
Utah - 001 030 0 - 4 6 0
San Diego State - 101 003 x - 5 8 0
Dyer and Hoffman; Velasquez, Alnes (6) and Burton, Floros (3) and McDonald (5)
WP: Alnes (3-0); LP: Dyer (13-8)
HR: UT - Phillips (1); SD - Hartung (2)