| GOAZTECS.COM | WEB |
|
|
Top-seeded Aztec Softball Team Hosts Mountain West Conference Tournament
May 6, 2003 SAN DIEGO - Complete Release in PDF Format
The Mountain West Comes to America's Finest City San Diego State University and the 2003 regular-season MWC champion Aztec softball team (36-17, 12-3 MWC) welcome fellow Mountain West Conference softball teams to San Diego as SDSU hosts the MWC tournament, Thursday-Saturday, at SDSU Field. The 2003 Aztecs, who won the league's regular-season title for the second year in a row, enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Because SDSU earned the No. 1 seed, it will receive a first-round bye. The Aztecs' first game is Thursday at 4:30 p.m. when they face the winner of the Utah/New Mexico game. The Mountain West Conference Championship game will be on Saturday, May 10, with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the 2003 NCAA tournament. "It is an honor to have earned the opportunity to host this year's tournament," said head coach Kathy Van Wyk. "It will be an exciting chance to show the San Diego community how competitive our conference is." Tournament Information
Schedule
All-tournament passes cost $15 for adults and $10 for youth, seniors and military. Single-day tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth, seniors and military. Parking is available in Parking Structure V (PS 5), located at the corner of Montezuma and 55th Street. Directions to SDSU Field: Take I-8 to the College Ave. exit. Head south on College Ave. until Montezuma. Turn right onto Montezuma. Take a right on 55th Street. Turn left into PS 5. SDSU Field is located behind Cox Arena on the east side of 55th street. Postseason History Since joining the Mountain West Conference in 2000, San Diego State is 8-6 in postseason action. San Diego State is 5-4 all-time in the Mountain West Conference tournament. The Aztecs advanced to the championship game of the MWC tournament in 2001 and 2002, losing to BYU (4-3) and Utah (8-1), respectively. Despite losing to BYU in the 2001 championship game, SDSU earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA tournament. San Diego State went 3-2 at the NCAA tournament and advanced to the regional finals before falling to UCLA, 11-0. This is the first year that SDSU is coming off a win as it enters the Mountain West Conference tournament. In two of the past three tournaments, the No. 1 seed has won the championship title. Top-seeded Utah won the MWC tournament in the league's inaugural season (2000). No. 1 BYU won the tournament title in 2001, while No. 2 Utah was victorious in the 2002 championship game, defeating the No. 1-seeded Aztecs, 8-1. Team Notes/Milestones San Diego State finished the season with the best conference winning percentage in program history (.800). SDSU's current overall winning percentage (.679) is also a program-best. The Aztec pitching staff has combined for a MWC-record 318 strikeouts this season. The SDSU hurlers broke a team record for single-season strikeouts in the second game against Centenary College on April 13 with 271 (record previously set in 2001 with 266). SDSU's .971 fielding percentage ranks among the top 20 in the nation (T16th). The Aztecs are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 16-4 in their last 20 contests. SDSU put together a program-best 13-game winning streak from March 26-April 26. SDSU has finished above .500 overall and in conference play each year since joining the MWC in 2000. The Aztecs have won 17 games by way of shutout, second most in Aztec history. The pitching rotation of Robyn Reid, Bonnie Rice and Lori Thompson set the record for most shutouts (22) in 1985. San Diego State has never allowed its opponent to stage a seventh-inning comeback, as the Aztecs are 27-0 this year when leading in the sixth. The Aztecs' 17 losses so far this year put them on pace for the fewest single-season defeats in program history (min. 30 games in a season). The 1991 team posted just 20 losses (26-20-1). San Diego State has only been swept in a series once this year, dropping a pair of decisions at Fresno State on March 23. There's No Place Like Home San Diego State is 22-4 at SDSU Field. SDSU went undefeated (9-0) in home conference games this year. San Diego State is 29-8 all-time in Mountain West Conference home games. The Aztecs are 5-11 on the road (3-3 in conference road games). Youth Movement The Aztec roster lists only one senior. Eight freshmen and three transfers wear the Aztec uniform this year. All nine starters are underclassmen. SDSU vs. The MWC San Diego State finished first in the conference standings for the second consecutive season. The Aztecs' record vs. league opponents in 2003 (12-3): BYU: 1-0 (W, 5-2) CSU: 3-1 (W, 5-3; W, 2-1; L, 0-1; W, 2-1) UNLV: 3-1 (W, 1-0; W, 3-2; L, 0-3; W, 5-0) UNM: 3-1 (W, 1-0; W, 5-3; L, 1-2; W, 4-2) UTAH: 2-0 (W, 3-0; W, 1-0) All-time series vs. MWC opponents: BYU: 10-3 CSU: 25-21 UNLV: 28-25 UNM: 33-21 UTAH: 18-35 For the first time since joining the MWC three years ago, San Diego State swept all five league opponents at SDSU Field to finish the home conference season at 9-0. SDSU opened conference play 9-0 before splitting its doubleheaders at UNLV, Colorado State and New Mexico. Despite splitting the doubleheaders at Colorado State and New Mexico last weekend, SDSU maintains its streak of never being swept in a series by a con ference opponent since dropping a pair of decisions at CSU on April 15, 2001. San Diego State Repeats as MWC Champs For the second year in a row, the San Diego State softball team captured the Mountain West Conference regular-season title, as it defeated Colorado State, 2-1, in the second game of its doubleheader against the Rams last Friday afternoon. SDSU dropped a 1-0 decision earlier in the day before winning in the second game to successfully defend its league title. Last Time Out Aztec pitcher Bre DeSanta pitched three hitless innings while junior first baseman Jacque Vaca went 3-for-4 from the plate and drove in two runs as San Diego State (36-17, 12-3 MWC) defeated the New Mexico Lobos (24-35-1, 7-13) in game two of last Sunday's doubleheader. SDSU lost in the first game, 2-1. DeSanta (17-4) picked up the win for the Aztecs, maintaining her perfect 17-0 career record against MWC opponents in regular-season games. The Aztecs' Winning Ways With the team's 3-0 victory over Utah in the first game of the Mountain West Conference doubleheader at SDSU Field on April 19, the Aztecs made history, setting a new record for most consecutive wins in a season with 12. The previous record was set over a decade ago when the 1991 squad posted 11 straight victories. The Aztecs went on to extend the streak to 13 straight wins before losing at UNLV, 3-0, on April 26. Time is On Their Side After a season-long 12-day break from March 30-April 12, San Diego State returned to the diamond and picked up right where it left off, winning four games in a row that first weekend back. SDSU posted a pair of extra-inning victories against UNLV on April 12 and also pushed its second game versus Utah on April 19 to extra frames before earning the 1-0 win. The Aztecs are 8-3 in extra-inning contests this season. SDSU in the MWC The Aztecs currently rank first in ERA (1.53), batters struck out (318), opposing batting average (.207), and wins (36). The SDSU pitching staff has also allowed the fewest runs (102), earned runs (82) and home runs (11). The Aztecs are second only to Colorado State in fewest hits allowed (276). Offensively, the Aztecs are second in the conference in stolen bases (43) and sac bunts (74).
SDSU has been recognized with seven Player/Pitcher of the Week honorees, the most of any MWC school this year.
|
 |
