SAN DIEGO – Following a walk-off win over Baylor on Thursday night, the San Diego State softball team (5-2) had two more games at SDSU Softball Stadium on Friday in the Campbell/Cartier Classic. SDSU came up short in an 11-2 final against Baylor before a 6-0 shutout win over North Dakota to cap off the night.
Baylor’s Amber Toven led off the first game with a home run. An inning later, Kaygen Marshall did the same to begin the second inning. Brooklyn Carter added an insurance run when she singled with two outs, stole second, moved up to third base on a throwing error and scored on a wild pitch. Olivia Gigante homered to left field to get the Aztecs on the board in the bottom of the second inning.
In the bottom of the third, Tylie Kitchen and Angie Yellen opened up the inning with singles. Mia Rodriguez ran for Kitchen and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Jazmin Williams drove in Rodriguez with a single to right field. SDSU tried to execute a delayed double steal, but Yellen was caught between third and home and the Aztecs were unable to tie the game at three.
Marshall led off the fourth inning with her second homer of the night to double the Bears’ lead. Baylor’s pitching kept SDSU off the board for the rest of the game while the Bears offense rallied for three runs in the sixth inning and four runs in the seventh to finish with an 11-2 final score.
San Diego State moved on to its game against North Dakota.
Ava Schaffel walked a pair of hitters in the first inning but was able to escape with two strikeouts in the inning. The San Diego State bats woke up in the bottom of the inning. Julie Holcomb singled on the first pitch of the game by Tehya Armstrong. She stole second base and moved to third base on a Williams lineout. Jade Ignacio drove her in with an RBI groundout. Olivia Gigante doubled and moved to third base on a wild pitch before scoring on a single by Lala Macario.
Schaffel worked around a two-out walk in the second inning. Gabriella Terrones led off the bottom half with a walk. Yellen singled to bring up Holcomb. The Aztec center fielder singled through the right side to score Terrones and move Yellen to third base while advancing to second on the throw. Ignacio lined a two-run single through the left side to score both runners and make it 5-0.
The Aztec starting pitcher went two more innings. Schaffel allowed a two-out double and walk in the third inning but escaped and pitched a 1-2-3 fourth inning with another strikeout.
Candace Tarle took over in the fifth inning. She walked the first batter she faced but retired the next three. Quinn Waiki doubled in the latter half of the frame but was stranded on second base.
Tarle retired the side in order in the sixth. Terrones walked in the bottom of the inning and scored on a Kitchen double to make it 6-0.
In the seventh, Tarle finished the game with three quick outs, finished off by a swinging strikeout of Jaedyn Valdez.
THE NOTE
Ava Schaffel and Candace Tarle’s combined one-hitter was the 40th by San Diego State this century and the first since Sarah Lehman and Dee Dee Hernandez limited San Jose State to one hit in five innings in an 8-0 win in the 2023 Mountain West Tournament championship game on May 13 of that year.
UP NEXT
SDSU has two more games in the Campbell/Cartier Classic on Saturday. The Aztecs will face Fordham at 2 p.m. before playing Oregon State at 7 p.m.
Baylor 11, San Diego State 2
Baylor (7-2) 120 103 4 – 11 14 1
San Diego State (4-2) 011 000 0 – 2 6 2
W – Tanner, 3-1; L – Kwarta, 3-1
HR: Toven, BU (4); Marshall, BU (1); Gigante, SDSU (2); Marshall, BU (2)
San Diego State 6, North Dakota 0
North Dakota (3-4) 000 000 0 – 0 1 0
San Diego State (5-2) 230 001 X – 6 9 0
W – Schaffel, 1-0; L – Armstrong, 1-2; S – Tarle, 1
HR: None