Feb. 27, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Junior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego, Calif./Escondido HS) doubled home sophomore Traci Wolf (Lancaster, Calif.) in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the San Diego State softball team to a 5-4 victory over Oregon Friday night at SDSU Softball Stadium. The second consecutive victory moves the Aztecs to 7-8, while the Ducks dropped to 6-11.
SDSU used small ball to get the winning run across in the sixth, which started off when redshirt junior Sydney Fleming (Oakland, Calif.) ripped a single off Oregon pitcher Brittany Rumfelt. After being replaced by Wolf at first, senior Christine Kulick (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) laid down her second sacrifice bunt of the game to move Wolf into scoring position. One batter later, Knudsen smashed a deep double over the centerfielder's head to plate Wolf with the game-winner.
San Diego State got the first two runs of the game with solo scores each in the first and second. The first run came when senior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.), who had reached on an error earlier in the inning, scored on another Duck fielding error.
A suicide squeeze by sophomore Jen Wisneski (Riverside, Calif.) that scored pinch-runner Stefanie Quichocho-Rosario (San Diego, Calif./Morse HS) gave the Aztecs a 2-0 lead after two frames.
After Oregon scored a run on one hit in the fourth, Wisneski came through with her first career home run to straightaway center field. The homer drove in Kulick, who had singled, to put San Diego State up, 4-1.
The Ducks responded with a three-spot in the fourth, highlighted by a leadoff home run by Neena Bryant, and RBI singles by Courtney Kivett and Rumfelt.
It appeared Oregon was going to take the lead the next inning when it loaded the bases with one out off Aztec reliever Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.). Micetich, however, settled down and got Kelsey Chambers and Carlyn Re to pop out weakly to Wisneski and Kulick at shortstop and third base, respectively.
The momentum carried over to SDSU's sixth as Knudsen's team-leading fifth double of the season gave San Diego State the hard-fought 5-4 win.
Wisneski led the offense, which collected seven hits, with three RBI and the homer, while Fleming had a career-high two hits. Redshirt senior Taryin Casillas (San Diego, Calif./Grossmont HS) and freshman Felicia Reifschneider (San Diego, Calif./Morse) also singled for the Aztecs.
Micetich (3-4) was credited with the win after allowing one run on four hits and a walk over 2 2/3 innings, while striking out three. Sophomore Samantha Beasley (San Diego, Calif./Steele Canyon HS), who was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week on Tuesday, scattered three runs on five hits and three walks over the first 4 1/3 innings of the game. She struck out six.
SDSU played well defensively, including a pair of highlight plays (outfield assist and running catch) by McCorkle in left field and a solid game by Wisneski at short.
San Diego State will continue its play in the San Diego Classic I with games against No. 12/14 Missouri (4:30 p.m.) and No. 4/3 UCLA (7 p.m.) on Saturday.