Freshman righthander Roxy Moran went the distance to earn her first collegiate
victory in her first career start and senior Amy LaRocque added three
hits as No. 7 Cal State Fullerton completed a three-game sweep of UC Riverside
with a 8-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at the UCR Softball Field in Riverside,
Calif.
Cal State Fullerton, which has won 14 of its last 15 dating back to the
end of March, improved to 33-13 overall, 14-1 in the Big West. UC Riverside
fell to 11-39, 2-12 in league play.
The Titans pushed across two runs in the top of the first on a pair of
errors and a wild pitch. After a one-out single by Gina Oaks, Jenny Topping
hit a high drive to left field which was dropped by the left fielder.
Oaks, coming around third trying to score, dislodged the ball from the
glove of the UCR catcher and touched home plate for the 1-0 lead.
Three pitches later, Topping sprinted home on a ball from starter Nicole
Bethurum (4-10) that skidded to the backstop, extending the lead to 2-0.
UC Riverside answered back with a run in the first off freshman starter
Roxy Moran, who was making her first career collegiate start. Jeannine
Robison smacked a one-out double to left, moved to third and scored on
a pair of wild pitches to close the deficit to 2-1.
Cal State Fullerton got that run back in the second when Jennifer Holt's
one-out double drove home LaRocque for the 3-1 lead.
After Bethurum held the Titans to just four hits over the next four innings,
Fullerton broke it wide open in the seventh. Oaks and Topping smacked
one-out, run-scoring hits before Amanda Hockett blasted her fifth home
run of the season over the centerfield fence to make it 8-1.
Moran (1-0) closed out the first win of her career by setting down 12
of the last 13 Riverside batters, allowing just one run on the day and
scattering four hits. Bethurum allowed eight runs (five earned) on eight
hits and walked two in the complete game loss.
The Titans return to action on Saturday (May 3) when they open a six-game
homestand to close out the 2003 regular season against Cal Poly with a
doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. at the Titan Softball Complex.
