May 1, 2010
STOCKTON, CA - Late rallies by both teams on Saturday afternoon proved decisive as Cal State Fullerton split a doubleheader with host Pacific, falling in the first game by an 8-6 count before claiming a 4-3 win in 10 innings in the nightcap at Bill Simoni Field in Stockton.
The split moved the Titans to 11-35 overall and 6-8 in Big West Conference play while the Tigers moved to 20-27 overall and 6-8 in league play.
In the opener, Pacific rallied from five runs down, scoring seven times in the final two innings to rally for an 8-6 victory. A three-run home run by Kellie Wilson keyed a game-tying five run fifth inning and Alexa Rivera's two-out, two-run single brought home the go-ahead runs for the Tigers, who had been held to just four hits in the first four innings.
Fullerton came out quickly against the host side, getting a two-run home run from sophomore Nicole Johnson in the first inning and four runs in the fourth on a two-run home run from junior Torrie Anderson, an RBI single by Ariel Tsuchiyama, and another score on a passed ball.
The two scoring innings for the Titans sandwiched a Megan Allen home run in the second for the 6-1 score, setting up Pacific's game-winning rally. Six straight hits to start in the fifth drove home all five runs in the frame before Fullerton could get the first out.
The Titans would strand the go-ahead run at third base, but could not hold back the Tigers in the sixth as two errors in the frame extended the inning, allowing Pacific to take control. The Tigers a walk, a fielder's choice, and the second error of the frame loaded the bases for Rivera, who laced a single down the left field line to score pinch-runner Erin Stephens and Nikki Armagost for the winning runs.
Fullerton then went quietly in the sixth and seventh, despite garnering two singles, but could not get a runner past second base.
Kellie Wilson (1-0) earned the win in relief, allowing just two hits in 3 2/3 shutout innings. Junior Ari Cervantes (4-18) suffered the loss in relief as the last of three Fullerton pitchers on the game, allowing the two unearned runs on one hit in 1 2/3 innings.
Sophomore Adriana Martinez led the Titans with a 2-for-3 day at the plate. Anderson's home run was her ninth of the season while Johnson slugged her fourth. Four different Tigers finished with two hits on the day.
In the nightcap, pinch-hitter Morgan LeMond's two-run home run in the seventh tied the game and Ariel Tsuchiyama's RBI single with two outs in the 10th drove home the winning run as Fullerton scratched together a 4-3 extra-inning win.
An RBI double by Amy Moore in the second inning got the Tigers on the board first, but Anderson erased the deficit for the Titans in the fifth, slugging her team-high 10th home run of the season with two outs to tie the game.
Fullerton's rally came after Pacific had taken the lead in the sixth on Allen's ninth home run of the year, a two-run shot that broke the 1-1 tie and threatened to steal another win from the Titans in the late innings. However, Fullerton put baserunners on against Armagost in the seventh to push across the tying scores.
Junior Natalie DeLeese walked with one out to bring up LeMond, who hit for K.C. Craddick, and the sophomore left no doubt, putting a charge into a 1-1 pitch and rocketing it out over the wall in right field to tie the game. The Tigers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but a double play and a groundout ended the inning without any damage done.
Both teams left runners on over the next two innings, including runners in scoring position in the ninth, before the Titans were finally able to capitalize in the 10th. Johnson led-off with a single and moved to third on Kadie Baldwin's double into the gap in left centerfield. A fielder's choice by Krystal Heinle erased Johnson at the plate to bring up Tsuchiyama, who took an 0-1 pitch to right field, scoring Baldwin to make it 4-3.
Cervantes (5-18) then shut the door in the bottom of the 10th, allowing just a two-out single to Rivera before retiring Allen on a comebacker to the circle to end it. The Titans' junior right-hander went the distance in the circle, allowing three runs on eight hits and working around four walks to earn the win.
Armagost (10-10) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits in all 10 innings, walking five and striking out three.
Both teams return to Bill Simoni Field on Sunday (May 2) at 12 p.m. in the rubber game of the three-game series in Stockton.