Feb. 14, 2010
TEMPE, Ariz. -
The San Diego State softball team saw its five-game winning streak to start the season come to an end with a 6-1 loss to Texas Tech on the final day of the Kajikawa Classic Sunday in Tempe, Ariz. The Aztecs (5-1) committed two errors and three pass balls, which led to three of the Red Raiders' (4-1) six runs.
The loss didn't ruin an impressive weekend for SDSU. San Diego State, which is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason polls, won its first five games, including four against teams also receiving votes in one of the two polls and two against fellow 2009 NCAA tournament teams. The 5-1 record is even more impressive considering that eight players (four freshmen, two transfers, two redshirts) who weren't on last year's NCAA tournament squad earned a combined 25 starts over the weekend.
Sophomore Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.) took the loss after yielding six runs (three earned) on 10 hits and a walk over seven innings. She struck out four, while dropping to 1-1 on the season.
Texas Tech got its first run in the second when Ashley Hamada singled home Raven Richardson.
The Aztecs tried to answer, but left two runners on base each in the second and third inning.
The Red Raiders then put the game away with a five-run fifth. Logan Hall's RBI single scored Hamada for the first run. Texas Tech then loaded the bases with help of an SDSU error. All three runners would score thanks to three passed balls by the San Diego State catcher. Mikey Kenney followed with a solo homer to give the Red Raiders a commanding 6-0 advantage.
The Aztecs finally got on the board in their bottom half of the fifth when senior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) hit a one-out triple and scored on a single by sophomore Felicia Reifschneider (San Diego/Morse HS). The inning would end one batter later, however, when junior Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) lined into a double play.
SDSU threatened but left two on base in the sixth and another one in the seventh, ending the game in favor of Texas Tech.
Reifschneider and freshman Kristin May (Corona, Calif.) each had two hits to lead the San Diego State offense.
The Aztecs play host to the Campbell-Cartier Classic beginning with a 7 p.m. game Thursday (Feb. 18) against UC Santa Barbara.