As the end of the season nears, the importance of each game magnifies for teams on the postseason bubble.
The San Diego State softball team kept its bubble from bursting Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader from the University of New Mexico.
The Lobos (15-34; 5-19 Western Athletic Conference) aren’t exactly a team with their eyes set on playing in the NCAA tournament, but the Aztecs (29-19; 13-9 WAC) couldn’t afford to take anything for granted in their 5-1 and 2-0 victories.
SDSU co-head coach Kathy Van Wyk was happy to come away with a sweep the Aztecs had to have.
“I’m pleased because these were two great games,” Van Wyk said. “We’re getting good defense, pitching, and offensively today we had some balls fall in.
“These games are more important because they’re games against teams that I think people expect us to beat. It’s easy to let down or just kick back and not give 100 percent. That’s when teams get you.”
There were no let downs in either game as SDSU’s pitching staff, which has carried the team all season, was again in top form, giving up just one run in the two games combined.
The Aztecs’ staff came in boasting a microscopic 1.65 ERA in WAC play. SDSU seniors Renae Mohamed (10-8) and Lisa Gonzales (14-7) showed UNM why the Aztecs’ opponents have been held to a .245 batting average all year.
Gonzales took the hill in the second game and shutout the Lobos 2-0, only giving up five hits in the process. Her 14th win gives her the third highest single-season total win in school history.
She was in complete control throughout the entire game. After the first two opposing batters reached base, she retired 19 of the next 20 batters that came to the plate.
“I felt really good out there,” Gonzales said. “My pitches were working and the umpire was giving me a big outside corner so we were using that to our benefit.”
Offensively, the Aztecs gave Gonzales all the offensive support she would need with a pair of runs in the third inning. A sacrifice fly from left fielder Anne Marie Risquez and a two-out RBI single by shortstop Jackie Eigner accounted for all the SDSU scoring.
SDSU got another strong outing from Mohamed in the first game. The senior from Glendale, Ariz., surrendered just four hits in six innings of work.
Offensively, the Aztecs gave Mohamed a couple more runs to work with, scoring five runs and collecting eight hits in the ball game. Sophomores Kelley Santa Cruz and Gina Punaro led the offensive attack with two hits apiece.
First baseman Erryn Gutjahr continued to swing a hot bat by adding an RBI double in the sixth to cap the Aztecs’ scoring.
“We’re starting to get balls falling in now that were being caught earlier in the year,” Gutjahr said. “We just have to keep swinging the bats and help out our pitchers who have been doing a good job all year.”
