FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton softball team capitalized on a pair of errors that led to all three of their runs as the Titans defeated UC Santa Barbara, 3-1, behind a complete-game victory from senior left-hander Desiree Ybarra.
Ybarra improves to 15-6 on the year as she recorded her 13th complete game victory. She did a solid job in the circle allowing just one run in the fifth inning, while scattering six hits, striking out half a dozen batters without issuing a walk.
She received run support from her teammates in the bottom of the second as Cal State Fullerton (42-13, 16-3 Big West) took a 2-0 lead over UC Santa Barbara (27-27, 10-9 Big West).
Sarah Moore led off the second and reached on a fielding error by the Gauchos. After a one-out single by Courtney Rodriguez put runners at the corners, Sydney Colenzo stepped to the plate and sent a sacrifice fly to leftfield, driving in Moore as the Titans took a 1-0 advantage.
The Titans extended their lead to two (2-0) after an RBI-single through the right side off the bat of Delynn Rippy brought in Rodriguez.
With a two-run lead, Ybarra kept the Gauchos off the scoreboard until the top of the fifth when a pair of doubles led to the only UC Santa Barbara run to make it a 2-1 ballgame.
In the bottom of the fifth, Cal State Fullerton regained its two-run lead (3-1) when Rippy led off the frame and reached base on another UCSB error. She would later come around to score on a sacrifice fly to centerfield by Alexis Gonzalez.
Ybarra retired the Gauchos in order in the sixth and seventh to preserve the win.
Ashley Ludlow (10-14) suffered the loss for UC Santa Barbara after pitching 6.0 innings and surrendering three unearned runs on five hits. She struck out four and walked four.
Rippy was the only Titan to record a multi-hit game as she finished batting 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Melissa Sechrest (1-for-2), Courtney Rodriguez (1-for-3, with a run scored) and Shianne Brannan (1-for-2) recorded the remainder of hits for Fullerton. Gonzalez and Colenzo were responsible for the other two RBIs in the game.
Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara wrap up the regular season with a doubleheader on Saturday, May 14 starting at 2 p.m., at Anderson Family Field.
Following game two of the doubleheader, the Titans will honor their eight seniors in a postgame ceremony.