Feb. 27, 2010
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -
The San Diego State softball team had its late rally come up short in a 5-4 loss to No. 13/14 California Saturday afternoon at the Cathedral City Classic. The Aztecs dropped to 8-8 with their third consecutive loss, while the Bears improved to 8-4.
Down 5-1 after five innings, SDSU scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to get within one run. San Diego State loaded the bases with no outs when junior Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) walked, redshirt senior Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) singled and sophomore Justeen Maeva (San Diego/Mira Mesa HS/Cal State Bakersfield) walked. Junior Eva Sahatdjian (Fresno, Calif.) and freshman Tanya Holguin (Woodland, Calif.) came through with RBI singles to bring the score to 5-3. After a strikeout, Maeva scored on a fielder's choice grounder by freshman Patrice Jackson (Kansas City, Mo.) when the Cal second baseman committed a throwing error at home plate. Freshman Kamerin May (Corona, Calif.) (strikeout) and senior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) (groundout) were unable to get another run across, stranding runners on all three bases.
In the seventh, Camello singled and reached second base with one out, but once again San Diego State was unable to get across the tying run, ending the game at 5-4 in favor of California.
Maeva's fielder's choice grounder in the fourth scored Camello with the Aztecs' other run of the game.
Camello had two hits and two walks, and finished the weekend batting .750 (6-for-8) with three runs at the Cathedral City Classic. Holguin and Sahatdjian each added two hits.
Sophomore Bailey Micetich (Woodland, Calif.) took the loss after allowing two runs on four hits and a walk over three innings. She struck out three. Redshirt sophomore Brooke Petty (San Diego/Vista HS) replaced Micetich in the fourth, but was unable to get an out, while giving up three runs in the process. Junior Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) pitched a scoreless final three innings, allowing three hits with three strikeouts.
SDSU co-hosts the San Diego Classic I this weekend, beginning with a game against UTEP at 7 p.m. PT Thursday.