CSUF softball competed in the Louisville Slugger Invitational this weekend at UCLA and Long Beach State, and played four games in three days. The Titans went 2-2 for the weekend, which brought their overall record this season to 14-9.
Despite a .500 record on the weekend, the Titans earned convincing victories over No. 18 ranked Minnesota on Friday and No. 22 UCF on Saturday to earn their fourth victory over ranked opponents this year.
Against Minnesota, CSUF earned a 2-0 victory. Sophie Frost tossed a complete game from the circle and only gave up two hits and struck out eight batters.
After a scoreless first three innings for both teams, Deshea Hill hit an RBI single to give the Titans the lead, 1-0, over the Golden Gophers.
The next score came in the sixth, as senior Zoe Richard scored an RBI double which effectively clinched the 2-0 win for the Titans.
In the Titans’ upset over No. 22 ranked UCF on Saturday, the Titans took a dominant win by a 7-2 score.
UCF took the advantage early over CSUF in the bottom of the first with a 1-0 lead.
However, the Titans were not deterred and came back in the second inning with two runs of their own. Jasmyn Vigilante scored first, stealing third and made it home off an overthrow to third. Alyssa Hernandez hit her first home run of her career, and gave the Titans a one-run lead over the Knights heading into the third.
Neither team scored in the third, but the Titans extended their lead with an additional two runs by senior Julia Valenzuela and freshman Megan Delgadillo in the top of the fourth. This gave the Titans a sizable lead going into the bottom of the fourth, with a 4-1 edge over the Knights.
The Knights managed to score a run in the fifth inning, and had the opportunity to add more with bases loaded with two outs. Frost came in clutch, as she relieved pitcher Dani Martinez to end the inning with a flyout and which stopped any further runs from UCF.
Delgadillo managed to score the only run in the sixth, as she hit an RBI single that brought the Titans’ lead to 5-2.
Despite a pitching change by the Knights in the top of the seventh, the Titans scored two runs to take a commanding, 7-2, lead before UCF’s last at-bat. No runs were then scored by the Knights, and the Titans walked away with the win over the ranked team.
Although their next game against San Diego State was competitive, the Titans fell, 6-5, in a game that went to four extra innings.
Standout performers in the game against the Aztecs included Richard, Hill and Janelle Rodriguez, who all hit doubles.
The lowlight of the weekend occurred in the first game of the invitational, when the Titans gave up a 1-0 lead against No. 16 ranked Michigan and conceded five runs in the seventh to the Wolverines.
The Titans return to action next weekend, hosting the final tournament of their season, the Easton Invitational at Anderson Family Field on March 12 at 5 p.m. Fullerton will play Boston University, Sacramento State and California Baptist. An additional game against Harvard on Friday has been canceled.
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