The San Diego State softball team enters its fourth season under head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz this weekend with five games across three sites.
The Aztecs kick off the season at home on Thursday with a game against the CSUN Matadors at 1 p.m. PT. SDSU will have a couple hours to rest up following the contest before taking on No. 2/3 Oklahoma, winners of the last four Women’s College World Series, at 6 p.m. at SDSU Softball Stadium. On Friday, San Diego State will travel to Fullerton, California, for an early afternoon doubleheader. The Aztecs will face Southern University for the first time ever at 1 p.m. before playing the host Cal State Fullerton Titans at 3:30. Following an off day on Saturday, SDSU will be back in action on Sunday, when it takes on the Black Knights of Army at 2:30 on the campus of California Baptist University.
A year ago, San Diego State brought home the Mountain West regular season title for the second time in three seasons under Coach Nuveman Deniz and finished 31-20 including a 15-7 record in conference play. Once again, the Aztecs swept through the conference tournament, winning all three games to earn their second MW Tournament title in the two years since the tournament was brought back following a 16-year hiatus. SDSU advanced to its third consecutive NCAA Regional but ultimately came up short against Virginia Tech and ran out of steam attempting a comeback against Grand Canyon in the Los Angeles Regional.
Last week, SDSU was picked to win the Mountain West with eight of the nine total first-place votes and 64 points overall in a preseason poll voted on by the league’s nine coaches. Additionally, Cece Cellura (8-5, 2.78 ERA, 4 SV, .285 avg.) was chosen as the MW preseason pitcher of the year after allowing just eight walks in 108.1 innings last season. She was joined on the preseason all-MW team by fellow Aztecs Cali Decker (.304, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 13 R) and Dee Dee Hernandez (10-4, 2.65 ERA, 3 SV, .267 BAA).
Other returning starters for SDSU include Lala Macario (.313, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 40 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 20 SB), Bella Espinoza (.241, 2 RBI, 19 R, 8 SB) and Angie Yellen (.260, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 18 R, 4 2B).
Despite falling 3-0 to No. 3/3 Stanford to open the 2024 campaign, the Aztecs have won 24 of 28 season openers since 1996, outscoring the opposition 6.0-2.1 in the wins. During that span, San Diego State is 6-0 when its opening game is not part of a larger tournament and the Aztecs haven’t lost an opener since 2012 when facing an unranked opponent while going 7-2 in openers played on The Mesa.