San Diego State’s tumultuous softball season continued Thursday night, but the Aztecs were unable to notch their 14th victory of the year against a talented Wisconsin squad under the lights.
The 5-4 loss brought the team’s record to 13-9 while also dropping their home record to 8-3. Every win counts at this point for the Aztecs. SDSU currently sits third in the Mountain West standings behind Nevada (13-7) and Grand Canyon University (23-0).
SDSU’s ninth loss of the season was a highly preventable one. The Aztecs dominated nearly the entire game courtesy of senior starting pitcher Key-annah Pu’a.
Pu’a started the game for the Aztecs and responded accordingly, pitching six shutout innings against a powerful Wisconsin offense. Wisconsin came into the game with an outstanding .967 team on-base plus slugging percentage, although for Pu’a, the opponent wasn’t the focus.
“It’s great looking back on it, but in the game, you’re not really worried about who’s in the other dugout,” Pu’a said.
She cited preparation as the reason for her mindset entering the matchup.
“We talk about that a lot at practice and in our postgame talks, so it was more just trusting myself, knowing that I’m good enough to get anybody out,” the senior said.
The start brought Pu’a’s season earned run average to 3.27, a beautiful figure considering her seven starts to this point.
The senior pitcher seemed to get better as the game wore on, something that she acknowledges, yet does not focus on.
“It definitely feels good to know that you’re getting deeper in a game and knowing that you’re still able to do your job as you get through the second and third time through the lineup,” Pu’a said. “But also, I just try to control myself instead of letting the game dictate how I’m feeling, so just trying to stay within myself, trust my process and just get outs for my team.”
Pu’a was given a tough task as well. The score was tied 0-0 all the way till the bottom of the fifth inning when Jazmin Williams brought in two runs with an RBI triple, giving Pu’a her first lead of the night.
Even with the offense struggling, Pu’a credited her mental focus as the key to continue getting much-needed outs.
“I had a talk with my coaches this week about pinpoint focuses that I can control, and not really worrying about the outcome, so I was trying to just trust my process and stay within myself, knowing that my team was gonna come through at one point,” Pu’a said.
In the disastrous top of the seventh inning, head coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz elected to put the removed Pu’a back into the game, a decision that has been common throughout the year.
When comparing a late-game appearance to a start, Pu’a favored starting, explaining, “I am a personal fan of starting because I think you get to set the tone and kind of learn the strike zone a little better.”
Even with the late-game collapse, if Key-annah Pu’a continues to make starts similar to Thursday night’s, the wins will come.
