Cal State Fullerton softball ended the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field on Sunday with losses to the No. 2 Washington and Fresno State. The Fullerton offense failed to gain any momentum as they only scored four runs over the final two games of the tournament. Their pitching also gave up a total of four home runs on the day, including three to Fresno State.
The Titans started the tournament on Thursday with a 1-0 win over Texas Tech. Later that day, they continued their strong start with a 4-3 win over California. On Friday, the Titans defeated Boise State, 3-1, and on Saturday, they defeated Illinois, 4-3, in eight innings.
The two losses on Sunday brought CSUF’s tournament record to 4-2 and brought the season record to 12-7. Despite ending the tournament with two straight losses, CSUF head coach Kelly Ford said she believes there are plenty of positives for her team to get out of the tournament.
“You get out of the Judi Garman Classic 4-2, you’ve done well,” Ford said. “We definitely could see the potential that we have and a lot of great things happened this tournament.”
In the early Sunday game, the Titans lost, 7-2, to the Washington Huskies. The Titans scored the game’s first two runs, but the Huskies went on to score the ensuing seven runs, which included four in the sixth inning.
CSUF’s Zoe Richard started the scoring in the first inning with a home run over the fence in right field to give CSUF an early 2-0 lead.
“She’s been a solid number three hitter. People fear pitching to her because of that long ball potential,” Ford said.
SKY-HIGH AND GONE! ???@ZOEEE25 hooks the RF foul pole for a 2-run shot and we have an early lead over Washington! #TusksUp
? @FloSoftball pic.twitter.com/GymiwQ8Zu3
— Titans Softball (@Fullerton_SB) March 1, 2020
The Huskies responded quickly the following inning after starting CSUF pitcher Sophie Frost gave up a single and a walk, Kelley Lynch hit a three-run home run just over the foul pole in left field which gave Washington the lead, 3-2.
In the top of the sixth, after Frost walked two Huskie batters, Sis Bates hit an RBI single to right field to make it 4-2 Washington. After, another walk loaded the bases, back-to-back RBI singles and a bases-loaded walk extended the Huskies’ lead, 7-2.
Frost was given the loss for the game, as she allowed seven earned runs off of eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched. For the Huskies, Brooke Nelson got the win after coming in for Lynch who gave up the home run to the Titans. Nelson pitched six innings, struck out four batters and gave up only three hits.
The Titans offense failed to get back on track as they lost, 10-2, to the Fresno State Bulldogs later in the day.
The Bulldogs took the lead right out of the gate. In the top of the first, leadoff hitter McKenzie Wilson hit a single, stole second and then reached third on a groundout. Then, she scored a run after a wild pitch from CSUF starting pitcher Trish Parks, and gave Fresno State the lead, 1-0.
In the top of the third, Fresno State added to their lead after Broussard homered to right field, 3-0.
Frost came out to pitch for the Titans in the sixth inning, and finished Park’s night. Park struck out four batters in five innings but allowed six hits, two walks and three earned runs while earning the loss. The pitching change did not help as Broussard hit her second home run of the game, 4-0.
The Bulldogs added six runs in the seventh, capped off by a grand slam to make it 10-0. The Titans added a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 10-2.
Fullerton next plays in the Louisville Slugger Invitational this weekend. They start the tournament on Thursday against Michigan in Los Angeles at 4:30p.m.
After finishing the Judi Garman with two losses, Ford said she looks forward to preparing for the next tournament.
“What I’m really looking forward to is getting back to work on Tuesday,” Ford said. “We’ve got to fix some things within our defense, within our pitching, within our offense and that’s what I’m most excited about for starting this next tournament.”
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