San Diego State softball escaped with a 2-1 victory over California Baptist in their final non-conference game on Tuesday evening at the SDSU Softball Field.
The Aztecs took the lead in the bottom of the first inning after a throwing error by the Lancers allowed senior Katie Byrd to score after a successful one-out triple down the right field line.
A few batters later, senior Molly Sturdivant hit a deep solo homerun over the left-center-field fence to put the Aztecs on top 2-0 in the first inning.
“We came into this game knowing (sophomore pitcher Giana Lopez) throws a lot of changeups so I went in looking for something fast,” Sturdivant said. “Today my main focus was staying loose and I made sure my teammates did the same.”
Junior pitcher Marissa Moreno allowed only one run in the circle for the Aztecs, after the ball got away from third basemen Kelsey Munoz in the top of the fourth inning.
Moreno said it is games like these that help the team get mentally and physically prepared for conference.
“Going into today’s game I was relaxed more than anything,” Moreno said. “I took this game as a practice game going into this weekend against Colorado State.”
Moreno has been struggling with injuries for most of the season and has been working to make her way back.
SDSU head coach Kathy Van Wyk said she feels Moreno is finally back to where she was before her ups and downs with her injuries.
“Tonight was one of the most consistent performances I have seen Marissa have and it is exactly what we need going into the rest of the conference season,” Van Wyk said.
The Aztecs were unable to score additional runs after the two-run first inning.
The Lancers did not quit and continued to threaten SDSU by putting bat on ball, finding the holes and getting runners on base.
Van Wyk said there were things the team could have done better in tonight’s game.
“I do not believe the team took this game seriously enough and we did not come out and make adjustments,” Van Wyk said. “We let opportunities get away from us and I do not like getting away with sloppiness or laziness.”
Van Wyk said the team has really been trying to focus in on playing with pride and playing hard every time they step out onto the field.
“We have nine games left and we are going to go in with everything we got from here on out,” she said.
The Aztecs will now be going into their next three game conference series against Colorado State starting April 26 in Fort Collins.
