April 7, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
Freshman Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.) and sophomore Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) combined on a three-hit, nine-strikeout pitching performance to lead the San Diego State softball team to a 1-0 victory over UTEP Tuesday night at SDSU Softball Stadium. It was the seventh consecutive victory for the Aztecs (25-13), who are receiving votes nationally in both the USA Today/NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
SDSU, which is outscoring its opponents, 23-3, over the streak, has now won 14 of its last 16, 16 of its last 19, and 20 of its last 25 contests.
The tandem of Micetich and Beasley kept a Miner (21-19) team, which came into the game with 52 home runs (fourth in the nation) and a .299 batting average, to just three singles. Micetich (13-4) struck out six and allowed three hits and no walks over four innings to win her 11th straight game. Meanwhile, Beasley struck out three in a perfect three innings of relief to pick up her fifth save of the season, which ranks second in the nation.
A third inning RBI single by redshirt senior Taryin Casillas (San Diego/Grossmont HS) was all the San Diego State offense would need. The inning started when freshman Felicia Reifschneider (San Diego/Morse HS) reached on a one-out error by UTEP shortstop Diana Prada. Reifschneider then stole second to move into scoring position. One batter later, Casillas drove a 1-2 pitch hard down the left field line to plate Reifschneider with the game-winning score.
The run came after the Aztecs stranded two in scoring position with one out in the first and before stranding a runner on second with one out in the sixth.
Junior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) singled to stretch her hitting streak to seven games and added to her SDSU career leading walk total (73), while senior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) added a sixth inning double. Reifschneider and redshirt junior Monica Alnes (Palos Verdes, Calif.) joined Casillas with solo hits.
San Diego State will return to Mountain West Conference action Friday night with a game against Colorado State at 6 p.m. at SDSU Softball Stadium.