Softball strikes out against SDSU
USD falls in both games of season-opening doubleheader
Maria Watters/Assistant Sports Editor/The USD Vista
The University of San Diego softball team kicked off their 2021 season with a doubleheader against the San Diego State University Aztecs at home on Wednesday Feb. 17.
The Toreros got off to a rocky start against the Aztecs in game one, giving up four runs in the first inning. USD was unable to stop the bleeding as SDSU proceeded to score four more runs, while the Toreros were unable to score a single run. After seven innings, the Aztecs emerged victorious, defeating the Toreros 8-0. But USD had little time to recover from the loss as they had to turn around to start game two. Once again, SDSU scored the first run of the game in the first inning; however, neither team was able to score another run for the rest of the game. Ultimately, USD was defeated 0-1 in game two, dropping to 0-2 overall.
Torero softball has been surrounded by uncertainty in recent years. The team was on track to win its first season since 2015 last year, but the abrupt cancellation of the season due to COVID-19 prevented them from improving on their 15-12 record. But despite the team’s early success last season, this new generation of USD softball looks very different.
The biggest change was made at the very top with a new head coach at the helm in 2021. MJ Knighten is a former All-American and professional fastpitch softball player. She served as the assistant coach at USD last year, and her promotion to the head coaching position makes her the youngest in NCAA Division I softball and the first Black female head coach of any program in USD Athletics. Knighten’s previous role with the program provides much needed continuity to the team, as they have had three different head coaches in the same number of years.
The 2021 Torero softball team will have some big spaces to fill after graduating their star pitcher, second baseman, and catcher. But with ten first-years and twelve returning players, Knighten will have no shortage of talent on the field.
Leading this talented group of athletes is team captain, redshirt sophomore Rion Simms. Simms played shortstop last year, but filled the second baseman role against SDSU. Alongside her is redshirt sophomore third baseman Sophia Bjerk who was named to the All-West Coast Conference preseason team for the second year in a row.
But the team would be put to the test against the Aztecs who ended last season 17-11. Though the game was originally scheduled for the week before, Knighten did not see the sudden change as a disadvantage: rather, she took advantage of the extra time.
“We came in pretty confident,” Knighten said. “We prepared a lot too. Especially now that we didn’t play San Diego State last weekend like we were originally supposed to, so we had even more time to prepare.”
The Toreros took the field first with first-year pitcher Katlin Entrup on the mound, while the Aztecs would be up at bat. The first inning was all SDSU. The Aztecs’ junior left fielder Nicole Siess was the first to score off of senior shortstop Shelby Thompson’s sacrifice fly to centerfield. Junior catcher Danielle Romanello was walked and advanced to second base after sophomore designated hitter Sara Lillie singled to left field. With two runners on base, junior first baseman Taylor Adams scored off of an error by right field. At the end of the first inning, SDSU led USD 4-0.
Neither team scored until the top of the fourth. Halfway through the inning, first-year Tyra Clary replaced Entrup on the mound. With one out and SDSU’s freshman third baseman Makena Brocki on second base and Adams on third, Entrup entered the game in a difficult position. First-year shortstop Jillian Celis batted in both runners with a single to center field. The Toreros were able to secure the final two outs on a flyball to left field and a batter’s interference call, but found themselves down 0-6.
The Toreros couldn’t come up with an answer in the bottom of the fourth, while the Aztecs scored another run at the top of the fifth inning when Lillie’s single to right field allowed first-year pinch runner Jeweliana Perez to score from third base. The final blow would come from SDSU at the top of the seventh when Lillie scored from second base off of first-year catcher Sadie Langlet’s single to right field.
After just over an hour of play, SDSU defeated USD 8-0.
Knighten pointed to first-game jitters and an inability to bring runners home that were in scoring position as a reason for the tough loss, while Simms suggested the problem was a negative mindset and lack of confidence.
“We were just playing tight,” Simms said. “We weren’t defending our pitchers very well at all, and we weren’t coming together as an offense.”
With just a short amount of time before the start of the next game, the Toreros would have to find a way to swing the momentum back in their direction in order to get a better result in the second game.
As USD took the field and San Diego State went up to bat, both teams squared up for their second matchup of the day. The momentum seemed to still be with the Aztecs as senior center fielder Jenna Holcomb scored from second base off of a single to center field from Thompson. The Toreros were able to force three outs before the Aztecs could score another run, holding them to one after the first inning.
Unlike the first game, however, the Toreros defense held strong. Both teams refused to surrender another run for the rest of the game. After eight scoreless innings, SDSU defeated USD 1-0.
Despite losing both games, Simms was proud of how her team came together in the second game.
“After the first game we just came together and were like, ‘why don’t we just have fun?’” Simms said. “That first game was not fun and no one was having a good time … and I truly believe we flipped a switch that second game and we just had a different mindset, and we did a really good job of working with our pitchers on defense and trying to string some runs and hits together.”
Though they didn’t get the result they were looking for, the Torero softball team is excited to work to improve through the rest of their season. And they had the opportunity to do just that on Saturday with a doubleheader against Grand Canyon University at home. But while they were able to score two runs in the first game, the Toreros lost both games 2-7 and 0-1, respectively.
Their next matchup is a three-game series at home against UC Santa Barbara, starting with a Friday doubleheader. Those games are at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.