The No. 10 Cal State Fullerton softball team and the No. 22 Alabama Crimson
Tide battled it out for just over five hours on Friday afternoon as both
teams emerged with a come from behind victory in day one action at the
second annual Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament hosted by UCLA.
Both the Titans and Crimson Tide are 1-1 overall on the season as the
games were the season openers for both teams.
In game one, Fullerton spotted Alabama three early runs, but rallied for
two runs in the third and sixth innings for a 4-3 win.
Senior All-American Gina Oaks (1-0) notched her first win of the year,
striking out seven and allowing just one earned run in the complete game
effort. Senior Jodie Cox and sophomore Caylin Hornish each had two hits
on the afternoon while six other Titans added hits.
The Tide got on the board in the first, scoring on an error for the early
lead. Alabama added a pair in the second on a pair of errors by the Titan
defense for the 3-0 advantage.
Fullerton got back into the game in the third as senior Amanda Hockett
smashed a double to the wall to score Cox to cut the deficit to 3-1 and
was followed by Hornish, who singled up the middle to score Hockett to
pull to within a run.
The Titans took the lead in the sixth as senior Jenny Topping led off
with a single and was followed by Hornish, who laid down the sacrifice
to move pinch-runner Krista O'Hanian into scoring position.
With two outs, sophomore newcomer Jody Campbell singled to bring home
O'Hanian to tie the game at 3-3. Back-to-back singles by Julie Watson
and Oaks loaded the bases to bring up Heather Saltarelli, who singled
to left to bring home Jennifer Holt for the game-winner.
In game two, Cox (0-1) had a no-hitter through 4 2/3 innings, but was
hurt by seven walks on the afternoon as the Crimson Tide rebounded from
a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Titans, 4-1.
Five different Titans had hits for the game, but could not put up more
than a run in the second inning on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by
senior Kristy Halagarda, who was 2-for-2 on the day.
Alabama tied the score in the fifth on an RBI single by right fielder
Ashley Courtney and opened things up in the seventh with three runs on
three consecutive RBI singles by Courtney, Jackie McClain and Lacy Prejean.
The TItans mounted a comeback in the seventh, as Hornish led off with
a single to center and was followed by a sharply-hit ball to the right
side by Halagarda which hit Hornish, who was on her way to second base.
Campbell drew a one-out walk to put runners on first and second, but Tide
pitcher Jennifer Wright (1-0) induced Amy LaRocque and Oaks to ground
out to end the game.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action at approximately 10:30 a.m. on Saturday
morning (Feb. 1) when the Titans take on top-ranked UCLA. Fullerton will
then face Loyola Marymount later that afternoon at approximately 3:30
p.m. to finish out the tournament.
The Titans' game with the Bruins can be heard live on the Internet at
www.TitanSports.org. Click on the "On the Air" link in the upper
right hand corner for more information.
