Feb. 12, 2010
Game 1: SDSU 4, Kentucky 0 html | pdf
Game 2: SDSU 7, Purdue 6 (10 innings) html | pdf
TEMPE, Ariz. -
The San Diego State softball team used a healthy dose of strong pitching from junior Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) and timely hitting for a pair of victories Friday at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. The Aztecs (3-0) shut out Kentucky, 4-0, in the opener, and then rallied twice to defeat Purdue, 7-6, in 10 innings in the second game.
SDSU's 3-0 start is its best since 2006 with all three of its victories coming against teams who are receiving votes in at least one of the two national preseason polls.
Beasley (3-0) picked up the win in each of San Diego State's victories, tossing 11 1/3 combined innings of unearned run ball. She struck out 15 with two walks, and allowed just five singles. On the day, her opponents batted just .135 (5-for-37) against her.
In the first game, Beasley tossed a five-hit shutout with six strikeouts to help the Aztecs shut out the Wildcats (2-1 after win over Cal State Fullerton later in the day), 4-0. UK, which was coming off a 5-2 victory over the Kajikawa Classic host and No. 5/7 Arizona State on Thursday thanks to three home runs, managed just five singles against Beasley. Beasley also added a pinch-hit single in her first at-bat since the 2008 season.
Beasley was helped with a two-run fourth inning by SDSU and two more in the sixth. The first run of the game came on a single by freshman Tanya Holguin (Woodland, Calif.) that scored pinch-runner Stefanie Quichocho-Rosario (San Diego/Morse HS). Two batters later, junior Traci Wolf (Lancaster, Calif.) scored on a wild pitch, making it 2-0 San Diego State.
Freshman Kristin May (Corona, Calif.), who gave the Aztecs a come-from-behind, 5-3 victory over Creighton yesterday with a walkoff two-run homer, got SDSU going in the sixth with a leadoff single. May moved to second when Holguin reached on an error by the Kentucky first baseman. After a flyout, junior Jen Wisneski (Riverside, Calif.) laced a double to right-center field to score May and move Holguin to third. Senior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) then singled for the final score of the game.
Playing in her first collegiate game, Holguin led the San Diego State offense with a 2-for-3 outing, including hits on each of her first two at-bats, with an RBI and a run scored. Redshirt senior Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) and sophomore Felicia Reifschneider (San Diego/Morse HS) each drew two walks for the victors.
In the second game, the Aztecs rallied from a two-run deficit in the fifth and a one-run deficit in the seventh to defeat the Boilermakers (0-1), 7-6, in 10 innings. Purdue, SDSU's second 2009 NCAA opponent of the day, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Jenna Alexander.
San Diego State got one back in the second on an RBI single by Wisneski which scored junior Eva Sahatdjian (Fresno, Calif.), who had singled and moved to second on an illegal pitch.
The Boilermakers made it 3-1 in the third when Suzie Rzegocki reached on an error that allowed Maia Monchek to score.
After leaving the bases loaded in the fourth, the Aztecs put together a two-out rally in the fifth to take the lead. May doubled and was replaced at second by junior Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.). After a Holguin walk, Sahatdjian drove a ball deep over the left field fence to put SDSU up, 4-3.
Purdue answered with a two-out home run of its own in the sixth inning when leadoff hitter Liane Horiuchi connected on a two-run shot to center off San Diego State starter Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.). After Molly Garst followed with a double, Beasley replaced Micetich in the circle and struck out Monchek to end the threat.
In need of a run in the top of the seventh to extend the game, the Aztecs got it when Alnes hit a one-out double to right-center and was replaced by junior Taylor Sutton (Gilroy, Calif.). Sutton advanced to third on a deep flyout to center by May and scored when Holguin reached on an error by the Boilermaker first baseman.
Beasley retired the side in order in the bottom half to force extra innings.
Neither team scored in the eighth, even with the international tiebreaker in effect, and the game moved onto the ninth inning. SDSU struck first when Knudsen scored on a fielder's choice RBI by redshirt junior Lindsey Marquez (Tustin, Calif.).
Purdue responded in the bottom half, thanks to a San Diego State error that allowed Erika Petruzzi to score all the way from second. Beasley got the Aztecs out of the inning, though, with two straight strikeouts and a flyout.
In the top of the 10th, SDSU struggled to advance the runner past second after a flyout and a strikeout to lead off the frame. Wisneski, however, came up big once again with a single to center that scored Holguin for the eventual game-winner.
Following a sac bunt to lead off the bottom of the 10th that moved the Boilermaker runner to third, Beasley struck out both Rzegocki and Jessica Morgan to end the game.
Beasley pitched the final 4 1/3 innings, allowing no hits and just the one unearned run. Nine of her 13 recorded outs were strikeouts. Micetich, the 2009 Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, started the game and gave up five runs on 11 hits over 5 2/3 innings, while striking out five.
Sahatdjian went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored to lead the San Diego State offense, while Alnes was 3-for-4. Wisneski added two hits and drove in two runs, and Holguin scored twice, singled and walked.
The Aztecs look to extend their three-game winning streak to start the season Friday when they take on Southern Utah (10 a.m. MT/9 a.m. PT) and Oregon (3 p.m. MT/2 p.m. PT).