Feb. 16, 2008
SDSU 2, Tulsa 0
SDSU 3, Fresno State 2
SAN DIEGO -
The San Diego State softball team rode the arm of senior Christina Ross (Santa Clarita, Calif.) and the bat of freshman Jen Wisneski (Riverside, Calif.) in a sweep of Tulsa and Fresno State Saturday during the second day of the 18th annual Campbell/Cartier Classic at SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs, who are off to their second-best start in school history at 7-1, shut out the Golden Hurricane, 2-0, in the first game and defeated the Bulldogs, 3-2, in the nightcap.
Ross (4-1) allowed nine hits and just one earned run over a combined 12 innings in the circle to pick up her third and fourth wins of the season, while Wisneski went 4-for-5 with two runs scored over the two games.
In the first game, SDSU, which is receiving votes in both the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball and USA Today/NFCA polls, backed up freshman Brooke Petty (San Diego, Calif./Vista HS) and Ross' combined shutouts with 10 hits of its own in a 2-0 triumph over Tulsa (3-4).
Both runs came in the fifth inning with Wisneski getting things going with a one out single up the middle. Freshman Samantha Beasley (San Diego, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) followed with a single to right before freshman Taylor Sutton's (Gilroy, Calif.) groundout moved the runners up a base. Freshman Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) replaced Beasley at second and scored, along with Wisneski, on a single by junior transfer Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.).
That would be all the runs San Diego State would need as Petty and Ross kept the Golden Hurricane off-balanced all night. Petty struck out one and allowed three hits over the first two innings before giving way to Ross. Ross logged the final five frames, giving up just one hit while striking out three. In fact, Ross did not allow a Tulsa runner past first base in the game.
Beasley had two singles in both of her plate appearances, while Wisneski and junior Erin Floros (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel HS) each went 2-for-3.
In the nightcap, the Aztecs broke open a scoreless game with a combined three runs in the third and fourth inning and held on to a late Bulldog (5-1) rally to preserve the 3-2 victory.
SDSU got on the scoreboard first when sophomore Brittany Knudsen's (San Diego, Calif./Escondido HS) sacrifice fly scored McCorkle in the third inning.
After Ross shut down Fresno State in the top of the fourth, San Diego State went to work in the bottom frame. Wisneski doubled and moved to third on Sutton's sacrifice bunt. Redshirt junior Dani Sidoti (Tucson, Ariz.) followed with an RBI single and advanced a base on sophomore Lindsey Marquez' (Tustin, Calif.) bunt single. Following a strike out, senior Tamani Wells (Concord, Calif.) connected on a 1-1 pitch and Sidoti raced home with a evasive slide to put the Aztecs up, 3-0.
Morgan Melloh's single in the sixth scored Lisamarie Coronado from second to bring the Bulldogs to within a run, but Ross got out of a jam with Fresno State runners on first and third with one out by retiring Nicole Angene on a groundout to third and a strikeout to Michelle Palazuelos.
Jenna Cervantez hit a one-out triple for the Bulldogs in the seventh and scored on Caitlin Stiglich's groundout, but Ross ended the game by getting Aja Scheuber to groundout weakly to Marquez at second base.
Ross struck out a season-high 10 batters for the Aztecs over seven innings, while allowing just two runs (one earned) on eight hits.
Winseski went 2-for-2 with a walk, a triple and a run, while McCorkle added two hits and a run.
SDSU will wrap up its play in the Campbell/Cartier Classic with two games on Sunday. The Aztecs will play Utah State at 2 p.m. before meeting UC Santa Barbara at 4:30 p.m.