Cal State Fullerton junior utility player Megan Estacio reaches first base in the Titans’ 12-2 victory over the UC Riverside Highlanders on Sunday. She went 1-2 and scored two runs as the Titans went on to take their first conference series 3-0.
(Patrick Do/Daily Titan)
After opening Big West Conference play with a bang last weekend, the Cal State Fullerton softball team (28-10 overall, 3-0 Big West) sets its sights even higher when it heads north this weekend to take on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs (16-14 overall, 0-3 Big West).
CSUF is currently riding a wave of confidence as the team is fresh off a series sweep of the UC Riverside Highlanders (23-12-1, 0-3) at Anderson Family Field. The Titans managed to outscore UCR 23-4 throughout three games.
Against Riverside, the Titans were led by the dynamic duo of senior third baseman Missy Taukeiaho and junior catcher Alexis Gonzalez.
Gonzalez racked up four RBIs in the 9-1 series opening victory, including a two-run homer and two sacrifice flies. Gonzalez leads the team in home runs with six.
In the series finale, Taukeiaho smacked a grand slam in the bottom of the third inning in a 12-2 rout of the Highlanders. She was honored with a Big West Conference Player of the Week award earlier this week.
In the series opener last Saturday, CSUF southpaw pitcher Desiree Ybarra struck out seven UCR batters and allowed one run in six innings pitched. She currently leads the Titans in strikeouts with 86 and boasts an impressive 1.89 ERA.
With the exception of only two one-run losses to highly ranked Alabama and UCLA during the month of March, CSUF is a red-hot 15-2 in its last 17 games.
While the Titans are riding a three-game winning streak and were victorious in eight of their last nine contests, the Mustangs sit on the other end of the spectrum with eight straight losses, including a three-game sweep at UC Santa Barbara this past weekend.
For the Mustangs, junior righty pitcher and infielder Sierra Hyland leads in the majority of the team’s offensive and pitching categories. Her .403 batting average, three home runs and 19 RBIs are all team-highs at the plate, while her impressive 10-4 record and 1.67 ERA in the circle make her one of their best all-around players.
Hyland, who has struck out an eye-opening 154 batters in 100.2 innings pitched this season, threw a no-hitter last month on her 21st birthday against the Saint Peter’s University Peacocks.
The upcoming series at Cal Poly will begin on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., followed by Sunday’s matinee game, also starting at 1 p.m. All games will be held at Bob Janssen Field.