FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton freshman Jasmine Antunez and sophomore Desiree Ybarra combined for a five-hit shutout to help the Titans defeat the DePaul Blue Demons 6-0 on Friday night at Anderson Family Field.
The Titans improve to 12-15 on the season, while DePaul falls to 13-10. After 17 straight innings without scoring a run Cal State Fullerton was finally able to get on the board in the second inning. After an Eliza Crawford walk and Lauren Mario base-hit, Antunez came to the plate attempting to move the runners over with a sacrifice bunt. However, on the bunt DePaul pitcher Kirsten Verdun overthrew catcher Kali Gardner allowing pinch runner Jena Rubio and Lauren Mario to score giving the Titans a 2-0 advantage. The Titans would add one more in the bottom of the second after a Leesa Harris RBI double to left field scored Antunez from second.
After losing her prior two games, Antunez (8-9) tossed five innings allowing three hits and four walks, while striking out three. Ybarra threw the final two innings giving up just two hits. In the loss, Verdun (9-5) surrendered six runs, three earned, off eight hits, while issuing two walks and striking out six.
The Titans extended their lead to 6-0 with a three run third inning. Ashley Carter led off the inning with an infield single and two batters later Crawford belted a two-run home run to right field. Later in the third inning, the Titans would load the bases giving pinch hitter Courtney Snyder a chance to extend the Titan lead. After taking a pitcher, Snyder was hit by the pitch from Verdun giving the Titans their sixth run of the game.
Ashley Carter was 2-for-4 with a run scored, Lauren Mario was 2-for-2 with a run scored, and Jasmine Antunez added two hits for the Titans. The Titans improve to 6-3 all-time versus the Blue Demons and snap a two-game losing streak.
Cal State Fullerton continues play at the Judi Garman Classic tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. versus No. 21 Virginia Tech, while DePaul goes up against Penn State (5:00 p.m) and Texas (7:30 p.m.).