SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State softball team will head northeast to Cathedral City, Calif., this weekend to take part in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Outside of a pandemic-affected 2021, the Aztecs have appeared in the tournament in every season since 2010 (It was known as the Cathedral City Classic prior to 2013) as well as the 2008 campaign.
SDSU opens the event on Friday against No. 19/19 Oregon at 1 p.m. The action continues with doubleheaders on Saturday night and Sunday. San Diego State will face UC Santa Barbara at 5 p.m. on Saturday night and UC Riverside afterwards. On Sunday, the Aztecs will take on Saint Mary’s at 11 a.m. followed by a contest against Hawai‘i.
The Aztecs trail in the all-time series against Oregon 10-18, falling 2-0 when the teams played in last season’s Campbell/Cartier Classic.
San Diego State has a winning record against UC Santa Barbara (35-25) including wins in the last nine meetings since 2008. Against UC Riverside, SDSU is 16-6 and won 7-4 when the teams last met in 2023.
The Aztecs are 20-4 against the Gaels including a 7-1 mark since 2003. SDSU trails 12-29 vs. Hawai‘i but the teams have not played since the 2006 season.
Last weekend, the Aztecs made waves with a 5-0 record in the Clearwater Invitational in Florida. SDSU knocked off No. 14/12 Alabama 4-1 before a walk-off victory against Wichita State on Friday. On Saturday, the Aztecs took down another ranked opponent in No. 16/16 Wichita State 5-2, finishing the day with a 6-2 win over Virginia. On Sunday, San Diego State capped off the weekend with a seven-run rally in the seventh inning, concluding with a Shannon Cunningham walk-off grand slam to defeat Charlotte 11-8.
Cece Cellura excelled in the circle in Clearwater, picking up four wins and a save in five appearances and earning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week. Grace Uribe has also pitched well (2.19 ERA, 17 Ks, 22.1 IP) while freshman Ava Schaffel pitched 11 scoreless innings so far this season. Lala Macario (1.103 OPS, .567 OBP, 5 RBI, 7 R, 4 SB) hit .500 over the weekend to earn MW Player of the Week, and Angie Yellen (.887 OPS, 9 RBI, 6 R, 4 2B), Cunningham (1.221 OPS, 2 HR, 9 RBI) and Jazmin Williams (.866 OPS, 7 R, 6 RBI) have contributed at the plate.