San Diego State softball came into Saturday’s game on a high note. They swept Friday’s games at the Campbell/Cartier Classic against University of South Dakota and Texas Tech University and kept the momentum going against UC Berkley.
Junior right hander Erica Romero got the start and never looked back, pitching all seven innings in the 2-1 win over the Bears.
“She knows what she can do now and she’s not afraid to go after the hitters,” head coach Kathy Van Wyk said of Romero’s performance thus far. “She’s getting terrific defense behind her.”
Romero amassed six hits, no runs and one walk on 93 pitches and pitched her first complete game of the season.
“Bottom line, it’s confidence,” Van Wyk said. “She’s not picking around the edges.”
It was the third straight win for the Aztecs and brings their record to 6-3 for the season.
Saturday’s game was scoreless until the third inning when SDSU freshman center fielder Kiera Wright laid down a bunt to third base on a 1-1 pitch. Sophomore right fielder Zaria Meshack then moved Wright over to second with a single.
Bears senior right-hander Nisa Ontiveros got herself into a jam when she threw a wild pitch, which advanced both Wright and Meshack.
Another mistake, a fielding error by the Bears, allowed senior second baseman Leia Ruiz to get on first, which also brought Wright across home plate to score the first run of the game. The next batter, senior shortstop Samantha Camello, singled up the middle, driving in Meshack.
The Bears tried to get something going in the fourth when Romero loaded the bases and junior catcher Annie Aldrete hit a sacrifice fly which scored freshman center fielder Krysten McCue. That run ended up being the only run of the game for the Bears.
Ontiveros struck out 10 Aztecs in the course of the game, but it wasn’t enough, as the two mistakes in the third ended up being their demise.
Even though SDSU dropped its home opener to University of Kentucky Thursday, the Aztecs came back with a vengeance winning both games Friday against South Dakota and Texas.
The Aztecs won 2-1 against South Dakota in the early game and won big over Texas Tech in the night game, which ended in the fifth inning due to the run-rule, when the Aztecs went up 13-3 in the bottom of the fourth.
It’s the second time this season the Aztecs have ended a game early due to the run-rule (14-2 win against Canisius College).
Van Wyk said she mixed up the lineup before the Texas Tech game because they needed more offense. Meshack and Wright, Van Wyk’s left-handed slappers, sparked the offense for that contest.
“Those were the people who got on and scored tonight,” Van Wyk said of the continued success at the plate in the game against the Bears.
She likes the lineup she has, but wants to see how the team progresses.
“We’ll have to see how we do as the games go on,” Van Wyk said.
Sophomore catcher Jenavee Peres is still out after a concussion she suffered in the first game of the season against Canisius.
“She is symptom-free,” Van Wyk said. “Now she’s going through protocol.”
