DAVIS, Calif. - The Cal State Fullerton softball team finished their conference series with a pair of wins over UC Davis Saturday afternoon. The Titans edged out the Aggies in game one 3-2, and then finished the series with another win in game two 9-5.
With the pair of wins, the Titans improve to 23-18 and 6-3 in the Big West, while the Aggies drop to 17-24 overall and 2-7 in league play.
Game One
In the first game of the day, starting pitcher Kelsey Kessler (12-6) served seven strikeouts to take the win. She also had two earned runs on eight hits in seven innings of play. Aggies' Katie Kibby (10-7) took the loss with three runs on seven hits, all earned, in seven innings.
To kick-off the game offensively in the third inning, Kylie Padilla hit her first home run of the season to right center field.
In the fourth inning, Ariana Williams and Lexi Gonzalez both got on base and then each advanced from Shianne Brannan's sacrifice bunt. Zoe Richards then popped up for a sacrifice fly for the RBI to bring in Williams for the Titans' second run.
To turn the game around, the Aggies struck back in the bottom of the fifth with a single from Alex Sotomayer down the left center line for two RBIs.
After two outs in the sixth inning, the Titans loaded the bases with Brooke Clemetson on third, Kelsie Whitmore on second, and Mikaela Francis on first. Sydney Colenzo then singled out to shortstop for the RBI and Brooke Clemetson scored to break the tie 3-2. UC Davis was unable to catch up and the Titans won their second game of the Big West series.
Game Two
Syndey Golden (4-5) received her fourth win with five runs on seven hits, three earned, and had three strikeouts in seven innings of play. Andrea Reynolds (6-12) took the loss for the Aggies with three runs on three hits in the first inning.
Lexi Gonzalez stood out on the plate with going two for four at-bat, including two runs and two RBIs.
The Titans struck early in the second game of the doubleheader with three runs and three RBIs. Delynn Rippy immediately got on base with a single, and then was batted in from Ariana Williams' hit. Lexi Gonzalez was next at-bat with a single to bring in Williams and then Gonzalez finished the inning from Zoe Richard's base hit to pump up the score 3-0.
In the second inning, the Titans kept their momentum with six more runs to seal the lead 9-0. Sydney Colenzo scored on a passed ball, while Delynn Rippy, Samantha Vandiver, Ariana Williams, Lexi Gonzalez and Shianne Brannan scored off of Titan hits. The Aggies responded back in the bottom of the second with an unearned run from Ashley Lotoszynski making the score 9-1.
The Aggies fought in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly to score their second run and then advanced a run from an illegal pitch from Sydney Golden. Then in the bottom of the seventh, UC Davis' Alexis Carney homered for two RBIs.
The Titans finished the game with a 9-5 win for the series sweep and will play again on Tuesday, April 18, at 7 p.m. against UCLA at Easton Stadium.
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