The women have had a couple of weeks to cool down from the firethey started at the Long Beach State Invitational. It’s time tore-ignite the flame as the San Diego State softball team (4-1) headsinto its own Campbell/Cartier Classic this weekend.
SDSUis coming off an impressive opening weekend, where it dominated thecompetition. Now with almost two weeks to rest, the Aztecs play hostin their 11th annual tournament.
The team will face Sacramento State, Ohio State, Northwestern andUniversity of Michigan — all veterans of the event.
“I really don’t know what to expect,” said Aztecs head coach KathyVan Wyk. “All the teams are tough, but Michigan is usually thestrongest.”
The Aztecs have a not-so-secret weapon to attack the competition– the winningest pitcher ever at SDSU — Sandra Durazo, who posted a2-0 record and a 0.39 ERA at the Long Beach State Invitational.
For her efforts, she was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher ofthe Week for the first week of February.
Durazo is expected to get the nod in the opener.
“Sandra will start off the tournament for us, and we’ll followwith our other pitchers,” Van Wyk said. “We just have to wait and seehow things go.”
Last season at the Campbell/Cartier Classic, the Aztecs compiled a2-3 record, beating Ohio State and the University of Pacific. No. 21Stanford took home the championship, with a 4-1 record. Other teamsin the contest included No. 1 UCLA, No. 3 Fresno and No. 6 Michigan.
THIS WEEKEND
Who: Sacramento State (2-0), Ohio State (4-2), Northwestern(2-2) and University of Michigan (0-0)
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, 9:30 a.m.Sunday
Where: Sportsplex U.S.A. in Poway
Opponents’ Update: It’s all about the pitching. Ohio State has gota pair of California natives to bring on the heat. Buckeye KristiDeVires had 23 strikeouts in 23 innings in the Auburn Invitationaland was named MVP of the tournament. Her teammate, Wendy Allen, isready to step in to keep things warm. Michigan’s pitching will be ledby Marie Barda, who was the 2000 All-Big Ten Conference first teamlast season. Northwestern will put Brie Brown on the mound, whopitched 28 innings with a 1.75 ERA.
