March 30, 2008
SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA - Cal State Fulleton's Kiki Munoz and K.C. Craddick each finished with a pair of hits, but it wasn't enough to lift the Titans as host Cal Poly posted a sweep of its Big West Conference-opening series with a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
The loss was a season-high fourth-straight for Fullerton, which fell to 16-18-1 overall and 0-3 in Big West play. The Titans were swept in their league-opening series for the first time since 2004 when they fell to Utah State in Logan, Utah, on April 3-4. The Mustangs improved to 15-13 overall and 3-0 in conference action.
RBI singles by Anna Cahn and Cristen Lee provided the Mustangs with the early 2-0 lead in the second inning before the Titans rallied for a run in the fourth on an RBI double by Jenna Wheeler to score Lauren Lupinetti and make it 2-1.
However, that was all Fullerton could muster as Helen Pena entered in the fifth and allowed only a single hit - an infield single by Craddick in the sixth - to tally her first save of the year and secure the win for Cal Poly.
Robyn Kontra (5-1) struck out five and scattered only five hits in four innings to earn the win. Titan senior Jessica Doucette (9-9), fresh off throwing 13 2/3 innings the night before in a 1-0 loss in 14 innings, suffered the loss, allowing only one earned run on four hits in six innings.
Fullerton left seven runners on base, including a pair in scoring position in the second, a runner at third in the third and the bases loaded in the fourth inning.
The Titans look to break into the win column next weekend as Fullerton hosts UC Riverside for a three-game series at Anderson Family Field. The two teams open with a doubleheader on Saturday (April 5) beginning at noon before concluding the series with a single game on Sunday (April 6), also at 12 p.m.