March 21, 2008
FULLERTON, Calif. - Freshman Jen Wisneski (Riverside, Calif.) singled home sophomore Lindsey Marquez (Tustin, Calif.) in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift the No. 22/25 San Diego State softball team to a 1-0 victory over No. 18/14 DePaul Friday night at the Judy Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The victory improves the Aztecs' record to 26-10, including a 5-2 mark against 2007 Women's College World Series squads.
In a fine defensive game by both teams that featured a combined nine hits, it was Wisneski's hit in the bottom of eighth that mattered the most. Marquez was placed on second base due to the international tiebreaker rule and, following a SDSU strikeout, redshirt Dani Sidoti (Tucson, Ariz.) joined her on the base paths when she was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. Sophomore Janae Portugal (San Diego, Calif./Westview HS) then moved each up a bag on a groundout to the Blue Demons' (17-9) shortstop. Wisneski then lofted the 1-1 pitcher over DePaul's drawn in outfield to plate Marquez with San Diego State's second extra-inning game in as many nights.
Marquez and senior Tamani Wells (Concord, Calif.) also singled for the Aztecs.
Senior Christina Ross (Santa Clarita, Calif.) (15-8) continued her dominance in the circle with an eight-inning complete game shutout. She scattered six hits and two walks, while striking out three.
Ross ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the eighth, thanks mostly to the international tiebreaker. Tara Voss was placed at second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt. Following an infield single by Amber Patton that kept Voss at third, but allowed Patton to move to second, SDSU decided to intentionally walk the Blue Demons' No. 3 hitter Jackie Tarulli-Fisher. With the bases loaded and no outs, Ross struck out Simone Ashkar and got the next batter to ground out to Wisneski at short. For the game, Ross stranded eight DePaul runners.
Earlier in the day, Michigan didn't get a hit until the bottom of the second but it was a big one as Dorian Shaw connected on a two-run homer over the left field fence, giving the Wolverines a 2-0 win over San Diego State.
Junior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) had two hits to lead the SDSU offense, including a double in the first inning. Senior Megan McDonald (Glendale, Ariz.) and Sidoti also singled for San Diego State.
Freshman pitcher Samantha Beasley (San Diego, Calif./Steele Canyon HS) (6-2) pitched well for the Aztecs, scattering three two runs on three hits and a walk in three innings. Ross, who threw all 12 innings in the team's 9-5 win over No. 19/18 Washington the night before, gave up just one hit and a walk over three innings of relief, while six of her nine outs were strikeouts.
San Diego State wraps up its play in the Judy Garman Classic with a game against Illinois at 9 a.m. Saturday.