The No. 8 Cal State Fullerton softball team got solid pitching from the
entire pitching staff and two big offensive innings helped the Titans
to a doubleheader sweep of visiting Utah State by the scores of 3-0 and
4-0 on Saturday afternoon in the Big West Conference opener for both teams
at the Titan Softball Complex.
The Titans improved to 21-12 overall, 2-0 in the Big West, while Utah
State fell to 5-19, 0-2. Fullerton won its Big West Conference opener
for the fourth consecutive year dating back to the 1999 season.
In game one, senior Jodie Cox tossed her sixth career no-hitter and the
Titans added a three-spot in the sixth inning to hand Utah State a 3-0
defeat.
Cox (8-7) sat down the first 15 batters she faced before walking Candice
Hatch to lead off the sixth inning. The Aggies threatened in that inning,
putting runners at first and second with two outs before Cox got Kelly
Leos to ground back to the circle to end the inning.
The bottom of the order then got the Titan offense going with two outs.
LaRocque reached on an infield single and scored when senior Krista O'Hanian
doubled to centerfield for the 1-0 lead.
After a single by Jennifer Holt put runners at the corners, Julie Watson
followed with an infield single over the pitcher's head to score O'Hanian
to make it 2-0. Heather Saltarelli then followed with another infield
single to score Holt and cap the scoring.
Cox walked one and struck out five on the day. Leslie Higley (4-9) suffered
the loss, allowing three runs on eight hits and walking two.
Game two was much of the same as Gina Oaks and freshman Roxy Moran combined
on a five-hit shutout in the 4-0 Titans victory.
Oaks (13-5) earned the victory, allowing just two hits and striking out
two on the day. Moran threw the final three innings, allowing three hits
and striking out a career-high six batters.
Fullerton got all four of its runs in the third inning, and all four with
two outs. Senior Jenny Topping got the Titans on the board with her RBI
single -- one of six in the inning as Fullerton batted around -- for the
1-0 lead. Amanda Hockett then walked, followed by Amy LaRocque, who brought
home another run with a single up the middle to make it 2-0.
The Titans capped the scoring on a two-run single to centerfield by O'Hanian.
Sophomore Heather Saltarelli paced the Fullerton offense with her 3-for-4
performance in the game and going a combined 5-for-7 at the plate for
the day. Oaks and Cox each added two hits in game two.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action on Sunday (March 30) at 1 p.m. with
the final game of the three-game set against Utah State at the Titan Softball
Complex.
