FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton (9-6) is staying home this weekend to host the annual Judi Garman Classic. They will face No. 20 Oregon on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. followed by Connecticut on Friday at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Titans will play against UTSA at 7:30 p.m. They will finish on Sunday with a doubleheader against No. 5 Washington at 11:15 a.m. and New Mexico at 1:30 p.m.
The Titans are coming off a tough weekend after going 1-3 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic. Despite the win-loss record, the Fullerton pitching staff was strong all weekend. Against No. 5 Washington, Dani Martinez and Sophie Frost combined to allow just one run to the Huskies. Frost came back the next game against Bethune-Cookman throwing her first complete game shutout of the season. On Sunday, No. 4 Oklahoma's offense got to the Titan pitchers putting nine runs on the board resulting in a run-rule loss for CSF. In the final game of the weekend, Martinez and Frost once again pitched well holding Cal to just two runs.
For the weekend, the Titan pitching staff had the seventh fewest walks allowed (9), ninth fewest runs allowed (12), tenth fewest hits allowed (25), and tenth lowest ERA (2.45). Frost was also just one of two pitchers at the Mary Nutter Classic to sport a 0.00 ERA.
Offensively, Fullerton struggled last week only totalling 11 runs in five games. Individually, Janelle Rodriguez was the only standout sporting a .500 on-base percentage in 12 plate appearances at the Mary Nutter Classic. Meanwhile, Ari Williams (11 games) and Alexa Neil (10 games) both saw their consecutive games on-base streaks get snapped.
The Titans will look to bounce back in their five games this weekend during the Judi Garman Classic.
Oregon enters the weekend ranked number 20 in the nation with a record of 11-4. Over the course of 15 games, they have already recorded 120 hits with a batting average of .308. They have respectable pitching with an ERA as low as 3.92, and 101 recorded strikeouts so far this season. Last weekend, at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic they went 4-2 ending the weekend with a strong 6-1 win against UC Santa Barbara.
UConn enters the weekend with a record of 3-9 so far for the 2019 season. The offense has struggled early on currently sporting a .213 average and an on base percentage of .292. Huskies pitching has been hit and miss so far with an ERA of 4.11, but led by Marybeth Olson's 1.24 mark. The Huskies have lost nine straight after opening the season 3-0.
UTSA is coming off wins in their last seven games and sport a record of 9-6 so far in the 2019 season. The team's batting average .253 and an on-base percentage sits at .365. So far they have been able to rack up 104 hits and eight home runs while their pitching has been great sporting a low ERA of 2.06.
Washington comes in as the number five team in the nation with a record of 14-1 for the 2019 season. As a team, they're hitting well above average at .309 while their pitching has shined with a 1.73 ERA. So far this season out of fifteen games only one team has been able to score more than three runs on their defense.
The New Mexico Lobos are entering this weekend with a record of 5-9 so far in the 2019 season. Lobos are offensive is good with a batting average of .252 and an on-base percentage of .376. Their team is struggling defensively as their pitching has an era of 4.27. Their season's best so far was earlier in February against Creighton where New Mexico won 8-0.
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