The Cal State Fullerton softball team spilt a pair of games in day one
action at the 2002 Fiesta Bowl Classic hosted by Arizona State, opening
the tournament with a 4-3 victory over No. 16 Fresno State and falling
to No. 12 Nebraska, 3-2.
Cal State Fullerton is now 2-2 on the season and will face top-ranked
Arizona and Texas A&M on Saturday in day two of play.
In game one, Titan junior shortstop Amanda Hockett had an two-run single
in the first inning and a pair of bases loaded walks in the third led
to the game-winning run as Cal State Fullerton snapped a nine-game losing
streak to Fresno State with a 4-3 victory.
Junior Gina Oaks pitched five strong innings, allowing two runs on four
hits and striking out five to earn her first win of the year. Senior Christy
Robitaille surrendered a run in the seventh, but earned her first save
of the year by striking out FSU’s Lori Hoffman for the final out
with two runners on.
Sophomore Julie Watson led off the first with a walk and advanced to second
when Jodie Cox’s comebacker was thrown into centerfield by the Bulldog
pitcher. After a pair of foul outs, Hockett smoked a pitch into rightfield
to score Watson and Cox for a 2-0 lead.
The Titans then went up 4-0 in the third as Cox and Monica Lucatero knocked
back-to-back singles and Hockett was hit by a pitch to load the bags.
Oaks and Amy LaRocque then drew back-to-back walks to increase Fullerton’s
lead.
Fresno State got on the board in the fourth, on a two-run, two-out single
to right center by Pam Perez. Oaks then got Mitzi Ing looking on a called
strike three to end the inning.
After neither team scored in the next two innings, the Bulldogs made things
interesting in the seventh. After Robitaille struck out Ing to start the
frame, Tiffany Whipple reached on an error by the Titan first baseman
and advanced to second on a groundout to the pitcher. A single by Jaime
Southern moved Whipple to third and another single by Lindsay Fossatti
scored Whipple to make it 4-3.
However, that would be it for Fresno State as Robitaille struck out Hoffman
looking to end the game.
In game two, the Titans built an early 2-0 lead, but could not hold on
as Nebraska came-from-behind to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 3-2.
Cox and Lucatero knocked back-to-back doubles in the third to give Fullerton
the lead, but the Cornhuskers battled back.
Nebraska got two runs in the third on a sacrifice fly by Amber Burgess
and an error by the Titan pitcher to knot the score at 2-2. The Cornhuskers
took the lead in the fifth on an RBI single by pitcher Peaches James and
James did the rest from the circle.
James surrendered two runs on six hits and struck out nine Titan batters
in the complete game effort.
