Valentine’s Day was as sweet as roses for San Diego State as it finished 4-0 in the Campbell Cartier Classic. The Aztecs’ perfect tournament record didn’t come easy, though. They showed versatility by winning each game in different fashion.
SDSU started the first day of the tournament strong. From start to finish the Aztecs controlled the game, dominating North Dakota State University on the way to a 6-1 victory.
Although it was a team effort obtaining the win, a bigger story stole the spotlight of the game. Redshirt-senior utility player Lorena Bauer cemented her name in the record books as she regained her title as the Aztecs’ career leader in RBIs (a record she lost while sitting out the 2014 season).
“(This season has been) a little overwhelming,” Bauer said. “People expected a lot out of me and I needed to prove myself continuously … It makes me want to be better.”
Bauer also noted she was excited to break the record in front of the home crowd, which included her proud parents.
Day two of the tournament began with a dominant display from sophomore pitcher Erica Romero against the Oregon State University Beavers. Romero threw a complete-game shutout against the opposing Beavers.
The Aztecs struggled with hitting, but in the third inning a sacrifice bunt from junior shortstop/second-baseman Samantha Camello moved freshman catcher Jenavee Peres into scoring position. The next batter, junior shortstop Monica Downey, squeezed a single into right field, allowing Peres to come home.
In the sixth inning, junior third-baseman Kayla Bufardeci added a homerun and the 2-0 lead was more than enough for Romero to stave off OSU.
In the night game, SDSU faced Seton Hall University, an opponent that would seriously threaten the Aztecs’ perfect weekend.
Seton Hall jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as SDSU got off to a slow start, but as the temperature dropped the Aztecs began to heat up. SDSU chipped away at the lead and finally took over in the last inning to defeat Seton Hall 4-3.
Central Michigan University was the final team between the Aztecs and an undefeated tournament record, and CMU would not go away without a fight. It shut out the Aztecs going into the fourth inning with 5-0 lead, but SDSU would not roll over.
The Aztecs flipped the script by scoring five runs in the fourth inning and four more in fifth while shutting out CMU for the rest of the game. The Aztecs would finish with 13 hits and tied their season-high of nine runs scored.
Even though SDSU finished undefeated for weekend, the job is never done for head coach Kathy Van Wyk. A 4-0 tournament does not mean there is nothing left to learn.
“We were tested. We fell behind and had to come back,” Van Wyk said. “The fact we played games where we scored a lot of runs, and we played games where we scored few runs … There are a lot of good things to take away from this one.”
She went on to say the team can celebrate for the weekend but when Tuesday rolls around it is time to get back to work and get better.
SDSU is now 7-2 and will play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic from Feb. 19-22 in Cathedral City, California.
