FULLERTON, Calif. – Ariel Tsuchiyama finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI to pace a nine-hit attack and Desiree Ybarra allowed just one hit in four innings of work Saturday night to lead host Cal State Fullerton to a 5-1 win over Idaho State, rallying after a heartbreaking 1-0 shutout loss to Utah in its opener at Anderson Family Field.
The split moved the Titans to 11-13 overall and finished 3-2 in the Long Beach State Invitational. The Utes improved to 11-6-1 overall with their game one win while the Bengals fell to 6-11 on the year.
Fullerton concludes an eight-game homestand next week, hosting the Judi Garman Classic at Anderson Family Field. The Titans will meet a star-studded slate of games against Notre Dame, Arizona State, DePaul, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma in the five-day even that begins on Wednesday night (March 13) and runs through the weekend.
For more information, please visit http://www.fullertontitans.com/sports/w-softbl/2012-13/2013_Garman
GAME 1: UTAH 1, CAL STATE FULLERTON 0
Utah's Mariah Ramirez's solo shot in the fourth stood up as the only run of the game and Naomi Amu scattered just four hits in the complete-game shutout, lifting the Utes to a 1-0 victory.
Ramirez's blast came with one out in the fourth as she sent the first pitch she saw over the wall in left for all the runs Utah would need. Amu (6-2) struck out five and worked around three walks, stranding 10 Titan baserunners for the day – seven of them in scoring position – including runners at second and third in the seventh to end the game.
Freshman Jasmine Antunez (7-8) suffered the loss for the Titans, allowing just five hits and striking out three, while Ybarra limited Utah to just two hits in two innings of relief to keep her side in it.
Four different Titans finished with hits while Tsuchiyama walked twice from the leadoff spot to set the table. Fullerton had a runner thrown out at the plate in the first and left runners at third in the third, fourth, fifth, and seventh innings.
GAME 2: CAL STATE FULLERTON 5, IDAHO STATE 1
The Titans banged out nine hits, including a trio of doubles, and a four-run second inning was more than enough for the home side as Fullerton bounced back with a 5-1 win in the nightcap over Idaho State.
Ybarra (3-4) earned the win for the Titans, retiring the first six batters she faced and carrying a no-hitter into the third before a two-out single by Vicky Galasso broke up the streak. It was the only hit she surrendered, striking out two, before giving way to Katey Laban, who pitched the final three innings to earn the save, allowing the lone Bengals run on two hits.
Back-to-back doubles to lead-off the second by Tiffany Sheffler and Melissa Sechrest got the Titans on the board, and the Titans plated another run on an single up the middle by Jasmine Antunez as Sechrest was awarded home plate after the Idaho State shortstop was charged with obstruction to make it 2-0.
A throwing error on an infield single by Leesa Harris plated Fullerton's third run of the inning and Tsuchiyama capped the scoring with an RBI single for the 4-0 lead.
The Titans made it a 5-0 lead on Tsuchiyama's run-scoring double in the fourth before the Bengals scratched back with a single run in the fifth as Katee Wiley's RBI single up the middle plated Hailey Breakwell for the final 5-1 score.
Kelsi Ott (0-2) suffered the loss for Idaho State, allowing five earned on nine hits, walking one and striking out two.