Aztecs Set for Weekend at University of San Diego

The San Diego State softball team heads west to play five games against four teams in the Torero Classic on the campus of the University of San Diego.

The Aztecs open against the host Toreros at 5 p.m. PT on Thursday night. Following games against CSUN and --/No. 24 Washington on Friday morning, the Scarlet and Black will play the Huskies again on Saturday morning before an afternoon game against Kansas City. The game against San Diego will be streamed on ESPN+ for paid subscribers.

The Aztecs have previously played all four teams they will face this weekend.  SDSU is 60-7 when facing San Diego. The Aztecs won 10-0 by run-rule at SDSU Softball Stadium last year and are 4-1 against the Toreros under Stacey Nuveman Deniz. San Diego State is 22-37-1 against CSUN, with a 3-1 record against the Matadors under Stacey Nuveman Deniz including an 8-1 win to open the 2025 campaign. SDSU is 3-19 against Washington but 1-1 under Stacey Nuveman Deniz, winning 7-5 in the 2022 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. San Diego State has only played Kansas City once, a 4-2 win on March 7, 2014, as part of the Shocker Softball Classic in Wichita, Kansas. 

Last week, SDSU went 2-3 in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic wins over UC Riverside and Seattle U. The Aztecs fell in extra innings to Saint Mary’s with the other two defeats coming against then-No. 4/5 Oklahoma and No. 2/2 Texas Tech.

Two-time MW Player of the Week Jade Ignacio leads the Aztec hitters (.453, 1.056 OPS, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 10 R, 5 2B, 2 SB). Other top hitters for SDSU include Olivia Gigante (.250, .813 OPS, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R), Julie Holcomb (.327, .721 OPS, 9 R, 6 SB), Jazmin Williams (.380, .916 OPS, 8 RBI, 9 R, 3 SB) and Quinn Waiki (.279, .708 OPS, 6 RBI, 4 R). In the circle, Candace Tarle (2.42 ERA), 8.2 IP, 3 K, 1 SV) is coming off three scoreless innings against Texas Tech. Faith Jordan (3.21 ERA, 28.1 IP, 17 K, 3-1), Matti Kwarta (25.2 IP, 4-1, 3.55 ERA, 15 K) and Ava Schaffel (11.1 IP, 3.09 ERA, 9 K, 1-0) have led the pitching staff. Key-annah Pu’a (2-2, 3.62 ERA, 29.0 IP, 12 K, 1 SV) was selected as MW Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 16.