SAN DIEGO, Calif.—South Dakota mustered 10 hits and one run against a pair of 30-game winners from a season ago. San Diego State beat the Coyotes 7-1 in game one and eighth-ranked UCLA shut out USD 6-0 in game two. It was the season opener for both opponents while South Dakota dipped to 1-3.
South Dakota freshman pitcher
Ally Wiegand started both games and tossed 9 2/3 innings on the day including a complete-game effort against the nationally-ranked Bruins. She struck out six and walked two.
Jamie Holscher,
Morgan Vasa and
Shelby Keil each recorded two hits on the day for South Dakota. Holscher's double to lead off the third inning against San Diego State led to the Coyotes' only run. Holscher moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an infield single by Vasa.
A brief summary of both games follows:
San Diego State 7, South Dakota 1
First baseman Sydnee Cable drove in three runs in leading San Diego State passed South Dakota. Her two-run double in the first inning gave the Aztecs a 3-0 lead. She added a sacrifice fly in the third to make it 5-1. Katie Byrd and Jenavee Peres each went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
Erica Romero pitched four innings to earn the win. She allowed five hits and one run while striking out four. Julie McDonald pitched three scoreless innings of relief to earn a save.
Three South Dakota errors led to four unearned runs for the Aztecs. Wiegand pitched into the fourth inning before being relieved by
Megan Green, who recorded the final seven outs.
No. 8 UCLA 6, South Dakota 0
UCLA junior pitcher Johana Grauer, who started the Bruins' second game of last year's Women's College World Series, tossed a three-hit shutout against South Dakota. She struck out six and walked none. The only trouble she faced was a first and third threat with one out in the second, but Grauer induced a 1-6-3 double play to end the inning. She worked four perfect innings before surrendering a two-out single in the seventh.
Wiegand allowed just a solo home run to UCLA leadoff hitter Delaney Spaulding thru four innings. The Bruins added two runs on a double by Kylee Perez in the fifth and got homers from Paige Halstead and Rachel Garcia in the sixth. Wiegand struck out two and walked one.
Perez was 3-for-4 with the two RBIs. Garcia and Spaulding had two hits apiece.
South Dakota is slated to face No. 22 Notre Dame at 11 a.m. (CT) Saturday in Long Beach, Calif., before returning to Vermillion.
