LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Cal State Fullerton's (35-25) season came to an end Sunday after falling to No. 3 UCLA (54-5) in the Los Angeles Regional Final.
Trish Parks got the start in what would turn into the first game of the day. She would end up going the distance throwing all seven innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out two.
The offense struggled only notching three hits against UCLA's Rachel Garcia. Two of those hit came off the bat of Zoe Richard who went 2-3 at the plate. Bryanna Ybarra was the only other Titan to record a hit going 1-3.
It was a pitcher's duel for the first three innings as neither team could get anything across let alone get anyone on base. Parks carried a no-hitter into the seventh recording 10 straight outs after the leadoff hitter reached on an error.
Both Ybarra and Richard recorded hits in the second inning, but the Titans couldn't cash in a run as they ended up stranding the bases loaded after Shianne Brannan reached via a walk.
UCLA did the only scoring in the ballgame with two of their three runs coming in the fourth courtesy of a Bubba Nickles two-RBI double. They would add another run in the fifth on a Kylee Perez single and that 3-0 lead would hold.
After stranding the bases loaded in the second, Fullerton only had three more baserunners.
The loss meant that the Titans and Bruins would face off in a winner-take-all Regional Final match.
Trish Parks, after throwing all 21 innings of the first three games, got the start yet again in this one. She threw the first two innings before being replaced by Sophie Frost. Frost threw 2.1 innings allowing two runs on four hits while striking out two. She would allow a double and a sac bunt to open up the fifth and the Titans called on Parks once again. The junior finished with 3.1 innings allowing four runs on six hits.
Taylor Dockins, who hadn't seen action since April against Long Beach, came into the game in the bottom of the sixth and struck out the PAC-12 Freshman of the Year. That was the only batter she faced.
The lineup once again struggled against Garcia only recording four hits in the contest, but they did plate four runs. Deshea Hill went 1-2 recording her first career postseason hit, a two-RBI single. Sammie Vandiver and Bryanna Ybarra both recorded RBI doubles in the final at-bats of their careers. The fourth Titan hit went to Mikaela Francis who launched a single to right field in what would be her final career at-bat.
Nickles, who was a Titan killer this weekend, got the scoring started for the Bruins hitting a solo home run in the second. Fullerton would respond though as Hill came through with her two-RBI single giving the Titans the lead in the third.
That lead held for an inning before Nickles recorded an RBI single to tie it up in the fourth. Unfortunately for the Titans, the Bruins offense was just getting started. A four-run fifth inning gave UCLA a 6-2 lead going into the late innings.
However, Fullerton would not go down without a fight. Francis, in her pinch-hit appearance, came through with a one-out single. Then, with two outs, Vandiver doubled over the left fielder's head to plate the third Titan run of the ballgame. Ybarra followed that up with a double of her own making it a 6-4 game.
Unfortunately, that would be it and Fullerton's rally came up short resulting in their final loss of the season.
The Titans finish the season 35-25 overall with their postseason journey ending in Game 7 of the Los Angeles Regional. They were the only team in the country to play in a Regional game seven and have been given an end of the year ranking of No. 17 in the NCAA.
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