April 12, 2009
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State softball team saw its season-long nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 loss to New Mexico Sunday afternoon at SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs (27-14, 4-1 Mountain West Conference) committed three errors and managed only three hits against the Lobos (11-27, 2-4 MWC).
The loss was the first by SDSU since the opening game of a doubleheader against Texas Tech on March 17 and ends a 10-game winning streak in league contests, dating back to last season.
Things started out badly for San Diego State right from the beginning when sophomore pitcher Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) hit New Mexico's Cristin Anderson on the first pitch of the game. Anderson stole second and then moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jessica Lujan-Dresslar. On the play, Aztec redshirt senior third baseman Taryin Casillas (San Diego/Grossmont HS) overthrew the covering Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) at first base, which allowed Anderson to score and Lujan-Dresslar to move to second. Following a single by Analise Rubalcava that moved Lujan-Dresslar to third, catcher Jessica Garcia laced a single to left field to give the Lobos the early 2-0 advantage.
It looked like SDSU would get at least one run back in its bottom half of the frame when junior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) walked and reached third with one out. Casillas then ripped a fly ball to New Mexico right fielder Shenise Cox, who caught the ball and threw out Knudsen at the plate, even though it appeared no tag was applied on Knudsen by Garcia.
The Lobos stretched their lead to three runs with a solo score in the sixth. Rubalcava singled to left field with one out, moved to second on a wild pitch by Beasley and then got to third when Katie Gilmore's grounder was muffed by San Diego State redshirt junior first baseman Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.). Rubalcava scored on the very next pitch on an RBI squeeze play by Garcia.
The Aztecs tried to make it a game in the seventh when senior All-American Erin Floros (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS) (walk) and Casillas (single) each reached base and were replaced by junior pinch runners Stefanie Quichocho-Rosario (San Diego/Morse HS) and Katy Erickson (Tustin, Calif.), respectively. Senior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) followed with a single to left to finally put SDSU on the board. Things looked even better when sophomore Traci Wolf (Lancaster, Calif.) sacrificed Erickson and McCorkle up a base, giving San Diego State two runners in scoring position with one out. Erickson, however, was thrown out at home on a groundout by Alnes and the Lobos put the game away when Camello grounded into a fielder's choice to get Alnes out on second.
Beasley (13-10) was saddled with the loss after allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits over 5 1/3 innings. She struck out five without yielding a walk. Freshman Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.) struck out one and did not give up a hit over the final 1 2/3 innings, stretching her scoreless streak to 26 2/3 frames.
The Aztecs begin a six-game road trip Thursday at conference-leading Brigham Young, beginning at 7 p.m. MT.