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The Daily Aztec
Sports
April 20 - 26, 2022 EDITOR: Jason Freund • sports@thedailyaztec.com
No. 23 softball takes two against Boise By Isabella Kunde CONTRIBUTOR
Game one: SDSU 2, Boise State 6 The San Diego State Aztecs (29-12, 13-2 Mountain West Conference) fell short in the series opener against the Boise State Broncos (28-10, 7-5 MWC), losing 6-2 this past Thursday night at home. The Broncos came out swinging in the first inning with junior Kelsey Hall and senior Eliyah Flores getting back-to-back doubles. Aztec senior pitcher Maggie Balint was able to get out of the inning by striking out two batters and got a little help from her defense with an infield play for the final out of the inning. SDSU answered the call in the bottom of the first as sophomore Jillian Celis and senior Alexa Schultz got on base. Senior Danielle Romanello brought Celis home on an RBI single for the first SDSU run. The second and third innings were quiet for SDSU offensively, while Boise State scored two more runs to advance their lead. Senior Taylor Adams hit her fourth home run of the season in the fourth inning, cutting the Broncos lead in half. The Aztecs got momentum in the sixth inning, loading the bases with no outs and getting contributions from Romanello, Murphy and Brocki. Despite their promising advantage, Boise State’s defense kept the Scarlet and Black at bay, denying them any opportunity to score. Boise State brought in their final run of the game off a home run from Lalor.
The Aztecs had a hard time bringing runners home this match, leaving eight runners stranded. They finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and were 0-for-2 with bases loaded. Game two: SDSU 3, Boise State 2 It was a battle of the pitchers in an intense thirteen inning showdown between the Aztecs and the Broncos. Balint collected twelve strikeouts while allowing only two runs on four hits, a walk and a hit batter. This was Balint’s eleventh double-digit strikeout game of the season, reaching two-hundred and nine strikeouts on the season. Reliever Dee Dee Hernandez had her fair share of action in this match, allowing only three hits, a walk and collecting three strikeouts in five scoreless innings. Both teams were offensively dormant in the first two innings, keeping the score tied at zero. The Aztecs finally scored in the third as sophomore Macey Keester got on base and sophomore Mac Barbra sent a long double off the wall to bring Keester home. Celis also collected an RBI single, making the score 2-0. Balint’s stellar pitching caused two easy outs in the bottom of the sixth, but Bronco sophomore Kelsey Lalor turned things around with a two-run homer to tie the game. Neither team was an offensive threat again until the twelfth inning, when freshman Bella Espinoza singled for the Aztecs and made it to second on a stolen base. SDSU, however, was unable to capitalize The Aztecs’ game winning run came in
Photo by Derrick Tuskan, courtesy of SDSU Athletics
Freshman infielder AJ Murphy gets hyped after the Aztecs made a play in the field. Her and the Aztecs are also hyped to have moved up in the national rankings for the third week in a row, sitting at No.23 in the country.
the thirteenth inning. Schultz singled up the middle and advanced to second on a stolen base. Adams singled to right and brought Schultz home to win the game for the Aztecs. Game three: SDSU 3, Boise State 2 Four pitchers and one offensive inning is what it took for the Aztecs to win the final game and capture the series. SDSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning but left the runners stranded. However, their offensive momentum carried into the fourth inning, where the Scarlet and Black scored three times. The Scarlet and Black loaded the bases again in the fourth to set up the power hitting Barbra. Barbra ripped one in the infield gap, bringing two runners in.
Senior Jessica Cordola hit a single up the middle bringing home the third run for the Aztecs. The Broncos answered in the fifth inning and scored again in the sixth — taking advantage of two infield errors by SDSU. Balint walked a batter with the bases loaded, bringing in a run for the Broncos to make the score 3-2. Balint was able to close out the inning with two pop flies. Junior Dani Martinez was the starting pitcher for the Aztecs and was perfect for two innings. Allie Light came in relief and struck out three batters. Hernandez joined the game in the fifth inning, giving up two runs and three hits. Balint collected two strikeouts, one hit and one walk to record her fifth save of the season.
Sweep Mercy! Aztecs secure sweep against New Mexico
Photo courtesy of SDSU Athletics
Poncho Ruiz and the Aztecs got their first Mountain West Conference series win in 2022 with a sweep in New Mexico.
By Jenna Meyer SENIOR STAFF WRITER
After the Aztecs dropped their midweek matchup to USD 8-3, they geared up and hit the road to take on New Mexico in Albuquerque for a weekend conference series picking up their first series win in a sweep against the Lobos — their first sweep in Albuquerque since 1990. Game one Junior right-handed pitcher Junior Troy Melton took the mound for the first of three in the clash with conference opponent New Mexico and did so successfully, leading the Aztecs to a 10-3 victory. Junior Brian Leonhardt and sophomore Johnny Giannola started the series with a statement of back-to-back solo home runs, establishing an early 2-0 lead. The Aztecs continued their scoring into the third, plating two more runs and increasing their lead to 4-0. The Aztecs gave themselves some insurance in the fourth after redshirtfreshman Shaun Montoya’s single plated pinch runner sophomore Max Foxcroft. Sophomore Caden Miller then made it home on a sacrifice fly from sophomore Cole Carrigg, taking the score to 6-1. A leadoff double from redshirt-freshman
Tino Bethancourt — who later scored on a single from Montoya — and a tworun homer by sophomore Poncho Ruiz widened the gap against the Lobos in the sixth. Both the Aztecs and Lobos added one additional run in the eighth and ninth respectively, but SDSU’s early lead was too much for the Lobos to come back from. Game two Similar to game one of the series, the Scarlet and Black started their scoring early with four runs in the first inning after a double from Leonhardt and RBI singles from both Carrigg and freshman Irvin Weems. The Lobos then responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the first. Both the Aztecs and Lobos tacked on an additional run in the second, taking the score to 5-2. The Aztecs added on another two runs in the third while the Lobos plated three. SDSU continued their scoring efforts in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Leonhardt. The Lobos were not quick to give up the fight, adding another three in the fourth after a sac fly and a two-run homer. SDSU tacked on one in the sixth after Ruiz scored on a single from Carrigg, taking back their lead at 9-8.
The Aztec bats erupted in the seventh with five runs following a single from Deron Johnson who was then advanced to second on a fielding error by New Mexico, putting Bethancourt on first base. Montoya then brought Johnson home after a single and Carrigg singled to plate Bethancourt and Montoya. A throwing error brought Carrigg and Ruiz home following a single from freshman Irvin Weems. New Mexico responded with two runs in the seventh and eighth and one in the ninth, coming up just short of the Aztecs in the 14-13 nail-biter. Game three After securing the series win, the Aztecs headed into Saturday’s matchup looking for a sweep with freshman RHP Chris Canada getting the Saturday morning start. The Aztecs came out hot scoring four runs in the top of the first and took an early lead over the Lobos.
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New Mexico wouldn’t respond until the bottom of the second with a solo home run, shifting the score to 4-1. SDSU’s offense exploded in the top of the third after sending nine players to the plate to produce five runs after back-toback doubles from freshman Evan Sipe and redshirt-freshman Alex Rodriguez. The Lobos were relentless in their pursuit of catching the Aztecs, adding three runs in the fifth, two solo home runs in the sixth, and two runs in the seventh. The Lobos brought the score to 9-8, erasing the large deficit the Aztecs had created. The Aztecs knocked in two more runs in the top of the eighth to secure their 11-8 victory and secure the sweep over the Lobos of New Mexico. New Mexico wouldn’t have a chance to add runs due to the game being called in the eighth due to time constraints for the Aztecs traveling back to San Diego.
