In Friday’s game against UC Davis, Missy Taukeiaho went 2-3 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. She also went 2-2 at the plate on the final game of the series, blasting a home run and driving in three RBIs.
(Patrick Do / Daily Titan)
Dominant pitching and timely hitting led the Cal State Fullerton softball team to a series sweep over the UC Davis Aggies at Anderson Family Field this past weekend.
CSUF (34-10 overall, 9-0 Big West) remained first overall in the Big West Conference standings after its stellar weekend over UC Davis (14-22 overall, 3-6 Big West).
Game 1
Senior ace Desiree Ybarra got the nod in the circle for Fullerton, looking to add to her impressive 10-5 record.
The Titans got their first run in the bottom of the first inning as junior catcher Alexis Gonzalez reached first base on a fielding error, allowing senior third baseman Missy Taukeiaho to score.
The Aggies responded in the top of the second as Brianna Warner drove in an RBI to left field. In the bottom of the fourth, junior outfielder Delynn Rippy answered back with an RBI triple to the left-center gap, giving Fullerton a 2-1 lead.
The Titans pulled away in the bottom of the sixth, driving in four runs, capped off by a two-run blast from Gonzalez to left field.
Freshman righty Sydney Golden tossed an impressive five innings of relief with three strikeouts and only three hits allowed.
Game 2
Ybarra returned in game one of Saturday’s double header but got into trouble in the top of the first inning as she allowed the Aggies to score off an RBI single to right field, giving the Titans an early 1-0 deficit.
The Aggie lead did not last long, however, as Rippy hit a sac fly to right field, driving in a run to tie the game in the bottom of the third. The Titans took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth off a groundout from sophomore infielder Mikaela Francis.
Fullerton padded its lead in the bottom of the sixth thanks to senior infielder Melissa Sechrest, who smacked a three-run homer down the right field line to secure the Titans’ 5-1 victory.
Ybarra was, once again, phenomenal for CSUF as she recorded eight strikeouts and allowed only four hits and one run through seven complete innings. The win brought her record to an impressive 11-5 on the season.
“Last night (Friday) I was just leaving the ball over the plate a little bit,” Ybarra said. “I just focused on my little mechanical issues I had from (Friday’s) game and then just went from there.”
Game 3
Fullerton tacked on a run in the bottom of the first off a groundout RBI out by Taukeiaho. The Aggies tied the game in the top of the second as Taukeiaho recorded an error in the inning.
“Any conference weekend is a knockdown dragout weekend,” said Head Coach Kelly Ford. “Any little edge that we can get with a cushion and a long ball is so helpful, but Missy has been on fire.”
The Titans responded in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer to left field from sophomore infielder Shianne Brannan. The Titans led the Aggies 3-1 after two innings.
Taukeiaho redeemed herself from her earlier fielding miscue by belting a two-run homerun to left field in the third inning. After three more runs scored, the Titans won the game 8-2.
Golden put together another great outing for Fullerton as she tossed a complete seven innings, struck out five and only allowed two runs.
“It’s kind of like if its not broke don’t fix it,” Ford said. “Just the combination of the pitching and the defense is getting it done.”
The Titans look to extend their win streak to 10 games as they host the San Diego Toreros on Tuesday at 5 p.m at Anderson Family Field.