May 9, 2009
SAN DIEGO -
The San Diego State softball team banged out 12 hits en route to a 7-1 victory over UNLV Saturday afternoon at SDSU Softball Stadium. The Aztecs improved to 33-18 with the win and 10-5 in the Mountain West Conference, including a 3-0 record against the Rebels (31-19, 7-8 MWC) this season by a combined 14-2 margin. SDSU now awaits a possible at-large berth to the NCAA tournament, which will be announced Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.
Sophomore Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) led the hit barrage with a 3-for-3 day at the plate, including a double, two runs and an RBI. Senior Tonye McCorkle (Santa Ana Heights, Calif.) added three hits and an RBI, while senior All-American Erin Floros (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS) drove in three runs. Redshirt junior Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) (2-for-2, run, walk) and junior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Mt. Carmel HS) (2-for-4, two runs) also added two hits apiece for San Diego State.
Meanwhile, the Aztec pitching staff again came up with a good outing in the circle. Freshman Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.) (19-6) was perfect through five innings and ended the game with one run and three hits allowed over six frames. She struck out three to lower her ERA to 1.49 on the season. Sophomore Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) pitched a perfect seventh with one strikeout.
SDSU scored the first four runs of the game beginning with McCorkle's single in the bottom of the first inning that scored Camello.
San Diego State used a little bit of small ball in the third to get its second run across. Knudsen reached on a one-out infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Camello. Floros followed with a single to left to score Knudsen, which proved to be the game-winning play.
The Aztecs tacked on two more scores in the fifth. The first came on a sacrifice bunt by Floros that scored Knudsen and the second came when Camello took advantage of one of four UNLV miscues and scored from third on a throwing error by catcher Laura Briones.
The Rebels answered in the sixth off a Marissa Nichols single that scored pinch runner Korin Cuico.
SDSU put the game out of reach, however, with a three-run sixth, highlighted by an RBI single by Camello and a sacrifice fly by Floros.