TEMPE, Ariz. -- The San Diego State softball team saw its season come to end at the NCAA Tempe Regional final with an 8-4 loss at No. 8/5 Arizona State Sunday afternoon at Farrington Stadium. The Mountain West champion Aztecs finished 39-16 (.709), the second-best record in program history.
The Sun Devils (42-9), meanwhile, advanced to the NCAA super regionals, where as the No. 8 overall seed they will play host to ninth-seeded Northwestern next weekend.
SDSU's 39-16 record (39-16) only trails the 2008 squad, which went 44-17 (.721) for the best record in school history.
Mac Barbara got things going for San Diego State in the top of the first inning with a solo home run down the right-field line. It was Barbara's 18th homer of the season, which is tied with Patrice Jackson (2013) for the third most in Aztec single-season history.
Arizona State answered in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer by Cydney Sanders.
SDSU responded in the second as Jillian Celis doubled to left field and Alexa Schultz followed with a home run over the center-field wall. It was the third homer of the year for Schultz.
San Diego State starting pitcher Allie Light quickly got two outs in the third but Yannira Acuna singled and Sanders drew a walk. Jazmine Hill then took the first pitch she saw over the left-field wall to take a 5-3 lead.
The Aztecs got a pair of runners into scoring position in the fourth on a single and an error, but with two outs Bella Espinoza grounded out to shortstop Alynah Torres.
The Sun Devils added to their lead in the fourth after SDSU pitcher Maggie Balint hit Jazmyn Rollin and Jessica Puk. Bella Loomis followed with an infield single to Balint, who's late throw went into foul territory and allowed Rollin and Puk to score. Loomis, who got to third on the play, then scored on a long sacrifice fly by Acuna to make it 8-3 ASU.
San Diego State got a run back in the sixth when Celis doubled, moved to third on a Schultz flyout and scored on Danielle Romanello single.
The Aztecs, however, went in order in the seventh to end their season.
Barbara and Romanello each had a pair of hits and an RBI for SDSU, which outhit ASU, 8-6, in the game. San Diego State left five runners on base but Arizona State only left one runner.
THE NOTE
The Aztecs fell to 31-2 on the season when scoring first and 36-5 when leading at any point in the game.
THE NOTE II
Despite the loss, SDSU made the final of a NCAA regional for the sixth time in its 12 NCAA tournament appearances.
STAT OF THE DAY
San Diego State homered twice in the game and finished with a NCAA Tempe Regional-best seven over the four games after entering the weekend with 32 in 51 games.
UP NEXT
The Aztecs will enter the 2023 season as the defending Mountain West champions.
NCAA Tempe Regional
Tempe, Ariz. - Farrington Stadium
May 20-22, 2022
Double-Elimination
Friday, May 20
Game 1: [3] San Diego State 10, No. 22/20 [2] LSU 5
Game 2: No. 8/5 [1] Arizona State 5, [4] Cal State Fullerton 2
Saturday, May 21
Game 3: No. 8/5 [1] Arizona State 11, [3] San Diego State 8
Game 4: [4] Cal State Fullerton 3, No. 22/20 [2] LSU 2
Game 5: [3] San Diego State 8, [4] Cal State Fullerton 5
Sunday, May 22
Game 6: No. 8/5 [1] Arizona State 8, [3] San Diego State 4
San Diego State (39-16) 120 001 0 -- 4 8 1
Arizona State (42-9) 203 300 x -- 8 6 2
Light, Balint (4), Hernandez (6) and Romanello, Barbara (4); Morgan and Puk
W - Morgan, 18-3; L - Light, 7-4
HR: San Diego State, Barbara (18), Schultz (3); Arizona State, Sanders (21), Hill (14)
SDSU's Season Ends with 8-4 Loss at No. 8/5 ASU
