The San Diego State Aztecs defeated the University of Virginia Cavaliers by a score of 6-2 in their fourth of five games in the Clearwater Invitational. 

The Aztecs have had a stellar start to the invitational winning their first three games, beating No. 12 Alabama, Wichita State and No. 16 Missouri. It is the first time a Mountain West team has taken part in the Clearwater Invitational, which began in the 2019 season. 

The top of the first was a quick one-two-three inning for the Aztecs as left fielder Bella Espinoza grounded out to Virginia pitcher Ava Hodges with both center fielder Jazmin Williams and designated player Grace Uribe striking out. 

Pitcher Ava Schaffel was the starting pitcher for San Diego and got the first batter to ground out right to her. While Schaffel walked the next batter, who attempted to steal second, catcher Cali Decker threw the ball in a perfect spot to shortstop Quinn Waiki to throw the runner out. She struck out the final batter to end the first inning. 

Decker led off the top of the second with a single to right field for the first hit of the game for either team. Third baseman Angie Yellen reached first on a fielder’s choice after a ground ball to Virginia third baseman Bella Cabral threw the ball to second to get the lead runner in Decker out. 

Yellen then stole second to get a key runner in scoring position for the Aztecs. Second baseman Lala Macario laid a perfect bunt to not only move Yellen to third, but her speed allowed her to get a single. However, Marcio was caught stealing when she attempted to steal second base. 

Aztecs took a 1-0 lead after Waiki hit an RBI single to third which was just out of the reach of Cabral. First baseman Jade Ignacio then grounded out to end the top of the second. 

Schaffel’s first pitch of the second inning got the lead-off batter to ground out to Marcio. However, Schaffel hit Virginia catcher Sarah Coon to put a runner on first and the Aztecs almost turned a double play to end the inning but only got one out as the relay throws to first was just not in time. 

Waiki made a stellar diving catch to stop the ball from reaching the outfield and tapped her glove on second base to end the inning. 

The top of the third was a quiet inning for the Aztecs bats as right fielder Juile Holcomb led off the inning with a bunt, but Coon successfully threw her out at first and both Espinoza and Williams grounded out to Hodges. 

It was two quick outs for Schaffel on the circle in the bottom of the third with a lead-off ground out to Yellen and a fly out to Williams. Virginia got their first hit of the game on a double from Jade Hylton, but that was all the offense of the inning as Marcio fielded a ground out to get the third out. 

To kick off the fourth, Uribe belted a lead-off double to center field and Mia Rodriguez was substituted in for her as a pinch-runner. Rodriguez advanced to third after a pitch got past Coon and Decker drove her home after a fielder error by Virginia second baseman Reece Holbrook to make it a 2-0 Aztecs lead. This led to Hodges being taken out of the game and she was replaced by Eden Bigham. 

Yellen laid a bunt to the pitcher but miscommunication led to both Decker and Yellen reaching base safely. Marcario grounded out to Virginia first baseman Macee Eaton but the play allowed the runners on first and second to advance. 

In a key RBI opportunity for the Aztecs with runners on second and third and one out, Waiki flew out to Eaton for the second out. Ignacio hit the ball to Hylton for what should have been the third out of the inning, but a throwing error allowed two runs to score and Ignacio to reach second. 

Holcomb’s speed on a slow roller hit to reach first and Ignacio to get to third. Another perfect bunt by the Aztecs, this time from Espinoza, put the ball in a position to drive Ignacio home for the fourth run of the inning. Williams flew out to right fielder M.C. Eaton to end a productive inning for San Diego as they now hold a strong 5-0 lead. 

Schaffell was replaced in the circle by Cece Cellura after three strong innings. Cellura had a quick inning off relief following Holcomb’s stellar diving catch in right field, a ground out to Marcario and Willaims catching a line out. 

Uribe was put back into the lineup after she was replaced by Rodriguez on the base path and showed exactly why she is one of the best bats for the Aztecs by drawing a lead-off walk. That was all the offense of the inning as Decker hit a high fly-out to center field, Yellen struck out and Macario grounded out to third on a bunt to end the inning. 

The bottom of the fifth had a defensive swap for the Aztecs as Ignacio and Decker swapped positions. Virginia designated player Sydney Hartgrove hit a lead-off double to kick off the inning and M.C. Eaton hit a double to right, however, the ball got past Holcomb allowing Hartgrove to score for the first run of the game. 

As Eaton attempted to extend the play to a triple, a perfect relay from Holcomb and Waiki threw her out at third. Cellura rebounded right after to get the final two outs with a ground out to Macario and a fly out to Waiki.

Waiki led off the top of the sixth with a ground out to the shortstop. Shannon Cunningham pinch-hit for Ignacio and immediately made a major impact with a one-out double. Kiara Cisneros was slotted in to pinch hit for Holcomb and like Cunningham made a huge impact with an RBI single to extend the lead to 6-1. 

Espinoza continued the strong offensive inning for the Aztecs with a bloop single to left field but Sav Adams, who pinch-hit for Williams, grounded out into an inning-ending double play. 

Cellura stayed in the circle for her third inning of work and proved exactly why she stayed on the mound by getting two quick outs via a ground out to Macario and a fly out to Espinoza. 

Waiki fielded a ground out, but her throw to first was just off the glove of Decker, allowing Cabral to advance to second. Cellura ended the damage right there with a strikeout for the final out of the sixth. 

Uribe drew a walk for the second straight at-bat to kick off the seventh inning. Oliva Gigante, who pinch hit for Decker, then hit a deep fly out to center field for the first out and Jayleen Hernandez, pinch hitter for Yellen, grounded out to second, with Uribe advancing to second on the play. Gabriella Terrones was the pinch hitter for Macario, but she flew out to end the top of the seventh. 

Cellura was tasked with getting the final three outs of the game for the Aztecs, in her fourth inning in the circle. Cisneros made a perfect over-the-head catch to get the first out of the seventh for San Diego. Cellura struck out Hartgrove to get the second out and put Virginia down to their final out. 

M.C. Eaton hit a deep fly ball to Cisneros but her diving catch was just out of reach and Eaton successfully reached third for a triple. Alex Call then hit an RBI single between Yellen and Waiki to cut the deficit to 6-2. 

That was all the offense for Virginia as left fielder Kaylee Hackett grounded out to Yellen to end the game in a 6-2 San Diego victory. The Aztecs won their fourth straight game in the Clearwater Invitational, proving exactly why they are favorites to win the Mountain West this season. 

Cellura got the credit for the win after four strong innings, allowing four hits and two runs with two strikeouts. Schaffel was also dominant pitching with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walk and HBP.