April 17, 2010
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -
Sophomore Justeen Maeva (San Diego/Mira Mesa HS/Cal State Bakersfield) homered and junior Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS) struck out 11 for her eighth solo shutout of the season to lead the San Diego State softball team to a 4-0 victory over UNLV Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, Nev. The Aztecs improved to 26-10 overall and a perfect 4-0 in Mountain West Conference play, while the Rebels dropped to 26-15 and 3-1.
SDSU, which is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball national polls, has won five consecutive games and 18 of its last 20. San Diego State is the only undefeated team in league play, outscoring the opposition, 25-3, over its four MWC contests.
The Aztecs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when sophomore Felicia Reifschneider (San Diego/Morse HS) led off the game with a single, stole second base and moved to third on a wild pitch with one out. After senior Brittany Knudsen (San Diego/Escondido HS) walked and stole second, Maeva singled home Reifschneider for the only run SDSU would need.
After leaving five on base over the next few innings, San Diego State finally broke through for two more scores in the sixth. Maeva won the battle against UNLV pitcher Traci Odegard, drilling a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence to put the visitors up, 2-0. The Aztecs tacked on another score later in the inning when senior Stefanie Quichocho-Rosario (San Diego/Morse HS), who replaced redshirt senior Monica Alnes (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) at second after a one-out double, scored on a clutch two-out single up the middle by sophomore Ashley Rose (Carondelet, Calif.).
SDSU used some small ball for its final run on the seventh. Junior Jen Wisneski (Riverside, Calif.) drew her first walk of the season and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Reifschneider. Junior Jessica Camello (Temecula, Calif.) followed with a single to left field and a 4-0 final score.
Knudsen had two hits and a walk to pace the San Diego State offense, while Maeva and Alnes each added two hits apiece.
Beasley improved to 21-6 on the season with her eighth straight win. Beasley, who was not chosen as a 2010 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist, despite ranking second in the nation in ERA and in the top-20 in six other categories, allowed five hits and two walks over seven scoreless innings. The Rebels came into the game with a .331 batting average, which ranked eighth in the country. With the 11 strikeouts, Beasley now has 10 double-digit strikeout games this season and 19 for her career. The right-hander is 16-1 with a 0.54 ERA since Feb. 27 (103 1/3 innings).
The Aztecs continue their four-game road trip Thursday at Utah (4 p.m. MT).
San Diego State 4, UNLV 0 San Diego State (26-10, 4-0 MWC) 100 002 1 -- 4 11 0 UNLV (26-15, 3-1 MWC) 000 000 0 -- 0 5 2 Beasley and Sahatdjian; Odegard, O'Connor (7) and Briones Win: Beasley (21-6); Loss: Odegard (5-6) HR: Maeva (SDSU) (4)