The Arizona Wildcats (40-9) made quick work of the San Diego State Aztecs (29-16) Friday night at SDSU Softball Stadium, topping the Scarlet and Black 1-0.
Arizona gave the starting nod to senior Devyn Netz, and she was in complete control for all seven innings. Netz allowed zero earned runs, contrary to the Boise State pitchers that the Aztecs faced in their previous series.
After scoring 20 runs on 29 hits in Boise, SDSU’s bats went ice cold on Friday night under the home lights.
“Against that level of pitching, we don’t expect to score 15 runs,” commented Aztecs’ head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz. “I trust our pitching staff to keep the score low, and we just have to score.”
Coach Nuveman Deniz’s trust in her pitching staff was on full display Friday night as she elected to start sophomore Cece Cellura against the formidable Wildcats.
Cellura, like most of the Aztecs’ starting pitchers, was not expected to go the whole length of the game. Coach Nuevman Deniz took the contrarian route and let the dominant sophomore go the distance, and it paid off.
Cellura tossed seven innings of one-run, five-hit ball and added three strikeouts, as well. She also has taken on a bigger role in her sophomore season and ramped up her velocity during the offseason in anticipation of an increased role. Cellura spoke on how throwing harder helps her game and her success in the circle.
“Over the summer, I worked a lot with ball movement,” said the star sophomore. “Adding velocity and ball movement has helped a lot with my overall performance.”
The Aztecs’ defense was firing on all cylinders as they did not commit any errors on Friday night. Despite numerous hard-hit softballs, both Cellura and her defense held Arizona’s offense “at bay,” as coach Nuveman Deniz put it.
Despite SDSU’s best efforts, Arizona’s starting pitcher, Netz, tallied the only run for her side as she swatted a solo shot around the left field foul pole in the top of the seventh inning.
For a great majority of her start, Cellura’s ability to trust in her defense kept her in control. Allowing those behind her to make plays is something that Cellura has learned to lean on throughout her collegiate career, and she shared her mentality after the loss.
“I go into the game knowing [that there will be hard-hit balls]”, Cellura mentioned. “If [the batters] are on time, they’re going to hit it pretty hard, but I also feel like the defense behind me [helps me a lot].”
The Aztecs also had their fair share of hard-hit balls against the Wildcats, but very few of them found the grass or dirt. In fact, Netz only allowed three hits in her seven innings of work.
Various line drives and ground balls were either right at Arizona’s defenders or forced them to make a very tough play on the ball.
There were many web gems courtesy of the Wildcats’ defense, but the best one came in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Grace Uribe unleashed on a ball up in the zone, sending it deep into center field. Arizona’s starting center fielder, sophomore Regan Shockey, leaped and brought Uribe’s bomb back into the park, keeping the Aztecs scoreless at the time.
The only error committed by Arizona’s defense was at the bottom of the seventh inning. Aztecs’ junior Jade Ignacio reached base on a ground ball to second base, putting a little pressure on Netz in the final frame.
Netz struck out the final two SDSU hitters and put a lid on any sort of comeback, sealing the 1-0 victory in favor of the Wildcats.
Following the close loss, coach Nuveman Deniz spoke about their stiff competition and the implications that tough, out-of-conference games have.
“This is a postseason game,” said Nuveman Deniz. “We actually said before [the game]: this could be a regional game. I wouldn’t be shocked if we got sent to Arizona. It’s good for us to have to ramp [our intensity] up.”
The Aztecs return to conference play on Thursday as they host the San Jose State Spartans for a three-game set at SDSU Softball Stadium.
