Feb. 10, 2011
SAN DIEGO -
Complete Release in PDF Format
Aztec Softball Kicks off Season at No. 1/2 UCLA's Stacy Winsberg Tournament
The San Diego State softball team begins its 35th season of competitive play this weekend when it travels to Los Angeles for the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament on the campus of defending national champion and No. 1/2 UCLA.
The Aztecs, who are receiving votes in both the preseason USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls, are scheduled to play five games over three days.
SDSU kicks off its 2011 campaign Friday with a 1 p.m. PT game against North Dakota State. Following the season-opener, San Diego State will take on Utah State (9 a.m. PT) and Central Florida (2 p.m. PT) on Saturday. On Sunday, the Aztecs will meet Utah State again (11:30 a.m. PT) before the 2 p.m. PT contest against the host Bruins.
To track SDSU throughout the weekend, visit the tournament page at http://www.uclabruins.com/sports/w-softbl/spec-rel/winsberg.html or simply follow GoAztecs.com. Audio for San Diego State's game against UCLA on Sunday will be be available on the Bruins' website at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ucla.portal#
The Aztecs have had great success in season-opening games, including an impressive 13-1 (.929) mark in lid lifters under 15th-year head coach Kathy Van Wyk. SDSU has won 10 straight season-openers with its last loss coming against Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 5, 2000. Since records were first kept in 1980, San Diego State is 22-9 (.710) in its opening games.
The Aztecs return a stellar pitching staff, led by senior Samantha Beasley (San Diego/Steele Canyon HS), a 2010 third-team NFCA All-American, who finished last year ranked seventh in the nation with a 1.20 ERA, while recording a school-record 354 strikeouts.
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