SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State softball team (20-19, 5-9 Mountain West) is back on the road this weekend for a two-game series against the San Jose State Spartans (11-26, 3-11 MW) in San Jose, California.
The games are scheduled for 3 p.m. PT on Saturday and 11 a.m. PT on Sunday. Both games will air on the Mountain West Network.
SDSU is 44-23 against San Jose State all-time. Since Stacey Nuveman Deniz took over before the 2022 season, the Aztecs have won all 14 meetings with the Spartans. Since the Spartans joined the Mountain West for the 2014 season, SDSU is 25-10 against them including two straight wins in the 2023 Mountain West Tournament to take the title. Against common opponents (Washington, Saint Mary’s, UNLV, Nevada, Colorado State) so far this season, SDSU is 3-8 and San Jose State is 5-6.
Last week, San Diego State hosted Utah State for three games. The Aztecs led 2-0 in the series opener until the Aggies tied the score in the sixth. SDSU went back up in the bottom of the inning, but USU scored twice in the seventh to win it. SDSU coasted to a 9-1 win in five innings in the middle game. Quinn Waiki homered twice in the contest. On Saturday, the Aztecs trailed 4-1 after five before rallying to score two runs in the seventh inning and had two runners on base, down by a run with no outs. However, USU escaped the jam to end the ballgame. On Wednesday, SDSU hosted Nevada for a doubleheader. In the first game, Nevada scored in the first inning, but SDSU loaded the bases, scoring twice in the bottom half to go ahead. The Aztecs also loaded the bases in the second and third innings and added an insurance run. After the Wolf Pack homered twice to tie the game in the sixth, Olivia Gigante doubled to put SDSU back in front. However, Nevada crossed the plate four times in the seventh inning to go ahead and went on to win the game by a 7-4 final score. The Aztecs never led in the second game, ultimately falling by a 13-2 score in five innings. Lala Macario had a big day at the plate, accumulating a 1.833 OPS by going 4-for-5 with a double, three singles, a walk, two RBIs and a run scored.
Two-time MW Player of the Week Jade Ignacio (.400, 1.004 OPS, 4 HR, 30 RBI, 21 R, 9 2B, 5 SB) and Jazmin Williams (.367, 1.026 OPS, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 30 R, 6 SB) lead the Aztec hitters. Other top hitters for SDSU include Angie Yellen (.361, .897 OPS, 18 RBI, 18 R, 3 HR, 4 2B, 4 SB), Olivia Gigante (.286, .903 OPS, 8 HR, 29 RBI, 13 R, 6 2B), Kaila Pollard (.351, 1.032 OPS, 19 RBI, 11 XBH) and Quinn Waiki (.342, .915 OPS, 16 RBI, 16 R, 8 2B). In the circle, Ava Schaffel (4.00 ERA, 42.0 IP, 30 K, 2-0) and Key-annah Pu’a (3.97 ERA, 77.2 IP, 31 K, 5-8, 1 SV) have both been selected as MW Pitcher of the Week this season. Faith Jordan (3.52 ERA, 73.2 IP, 59 K, 8-5, 1 SV) has been a major contributor to the pitching staff.