San Diego State softball, battling for a chance to make it to the Women’s College World Series, fell 7-2 Sunday, as Utah bested them to close out a three-game series.
The Aztecs (39-17) opened up their NCAA Super Regional with a 4-3 win Friday, then the Utes (42-14) crushed them Saturday, 10-1, to set up the Sunday showdown.
The two teams had a lot on the line – SDSU, unseeded, had never gone to a WCWS, while No. 15 Utah hadn’t make it to the NCAA national championships for softball in nearly 30 years.
The Aztecs led 1-0 in the second inning, on a double by AJ Murphy, who scored when Utah’s Haley Denning dropped Macey Keester’s fly ball to left. But the Utes struck back quickly.
After a Sophie Jacquez single, with one out, Abby Dayton sent a line drive to left, ending up with a triple and an RBI. SDSU starter Allie Light, however, did not prove sure-handed, and it cost her. Two runners scored after her miscue on a grounder by Shelbi Ortiz, giving the Utes a 3-1 lead. Aliya Belarde added an RBI single to give Utah a three-run lead.
It was enough as San Diego State managed just one more run, thanks to an RBI single by Jade Ignacio in the fourth, which brought in Alexis Otero, who had tripled. Ute starter Mariah Lopez kept them in check during her five innings of work, giving up four hits and striking out six.
SDSU’s best chance came in the fifth, when the Aztecs loaded the bases on a Bella Espinoza single, and after two fly outs, back-to-back walks to Cali Decker and Makena Brocki. Lopez, however, struck out Murphy swinging to get out of the jam.
Light, the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year, took the loss.
“It’s been too long,” said Utah head coach Amy Hogue, “but we’ve been building and doing all the things to get there. You can’t take what we just did for granted.”
The Aztecs captured the Mountain West Tournament and NCAA Los Angeles Regional on their way to making their first NCAA Super Regional. They end their 2023 season with the third-best record in school history.
The Utes, the Pac-12 Tournament champion, will take on the No. 7 Washington Huskies as the WCWS opens on Thursday.