SAN DIEGO -- Fresh off becoming the first team to win its first NCAA Super Regional appearance since 2016, the San Diego State softball team looks to punch its ticket to the Women's College World Series when it takes on No. 15 overall seed Utah at 3 p.m. MT (2 p.m. PT) Saturday at Dumke Family Softball Stadium in Salt Lake City. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Aztecs (39-15), who are outscoring their opponents, 43-10, over their seven-game postseason winning streak, beat the Utes (40-14), 4-3, last night as AJ Murphy hit a go-ahead double in the top of the fourth inning, and the pitching duo of Allie Light and Dee Dee Hernandez allowed just five hits to the fourth-best hitting team in the country.
SDSU needs a victory Saturday or in an "if necessary" game on Sunday to advance to the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which will be held June 1-9 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The WCWS is an eight-team, double-elimination tournament with the championship final being a best-of-three series.
San Diego State went 3-0 at the first Mountain West tournament held since 2006 for its second straight MW title and league-record ninth overall. The Aztecs then went 3-0 in the NCAA's toughest regional (RPI average of 32.00) last weekend at Easton Stadium in Los Angeles before beating the Pac-12 Tournament champion Utah in front of a record-setting crowd of 2,723 on Friday night.
SDSU is playing in its 13th NCAA tournament and second straight under second-year head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz. San Diego State, which also made the tournament in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2022, is 22-24 all-time in the NCAA championship.
Four players are hitting over .300 for the Aztecs, including Bella Espinoza (.391, 56 R, 30 SB), Cali Decker (.374, 6 HR, 40 RBI, 29 R), Mac Barbara (.366, 13 HR, 45 RBI, 34 R) and Jillian Celis (.349, 6 HR, 48 RBI, 42 R). SDSU slugged five home runs at the NCAA Los Angeles Regional and have eight in seven postseason games after having 27 in its 47 regular-season contests.
The MW Pitcher of the Year Allie Light leads the San Diego State pitching staff with a 15-6 record, school-record seven saves and a 1.85 ERA in 128.1 innings, while Sarah Lehman (11-4, 3 SV, 2.44 ERA, 89.0 IP) and Dee Dee Hernandez (8-3, 6 SV, 2.84 ERA. 79.0 IP) were also a part of a streak of four consecutive shutouts this postseason. The four straight shutouts were the most in a row for the Aztecs since 2010.
SDSU Looks to Advance to WCWS; Meets Utah Today
