March 21, 2010
FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton sophomore Trina Harrison finished 4-for-4 with seven RBI and finished a triple short of the cycle to help pace the Titans' offense on Sunday afternoon as they finished off the 2010 Judi Garman Classic with a 9-6 victory over No. 24 Louisiana-Lafayette at Anderson Family Field.
Fullerton improved to 5-24 overall with the win and finished 2-3 in its showcase event. The Ragin' Cajuns fell to 16-11 overall and ended their stay in Orange County with a 1-4 mark.
Harrison had a two-run double in the first, a two-run single in the second, a three-run home run in the fourth and a double into the right-field corner to cap an outstanding day that saw the top five hitters in the lineup combine for all 12 hits. Sophomore Adriana Martinez also finished 3-for-4 while Torrie Anderson and Kadie Baldwin finished with two hits apiece.
Redshirt freshman Katey Laban (2-5) picked up the win in relief of starter Krystal Heinle, allowing one earned on three hits in four innings. Heinle allowed two earned on four hits in three innings of work.
Brittany Cuevas (9-4) suffered the loss for Louisiana-Lafayette, allowing eight earned on 12 hits, walking three and striking out five.
Christi Orgeron's RBI double in the first gave the Ragin' Cajuns the early advantage, but it was the big innings by the Titans that staked them to a lead they would never relinquish. Anderson led-off the first with a single, moved to second on an illegal pitch and went to third on Nicole Johnson's single.
With two runners in scoring position after Johnson went to second on the throw home to halt Anderson, Harrison laced a pitch into the gap in right centerfield for the 2-1 advantage. Baldwin then followed with a chopper to the right side that took an awkward bounce past the fielder, allowing Harrison to score for the 3-1 advantage.
After Louisiana-Lafayette got to within a run in the second, Fullerton rallied for three more in its half of the inning as Anderson walked with two outs, Martinez reached on an infield single, and Nicole Johnson was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Harrison, who singled back through the box to drive home two and make it a 5-2 ballgame.
The Cajuns continued to chip away, adding single runs in the third and fourth innings on a home run and an RBI fielder's choice, respectively, by Gabriele Bridges to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Harrison's seventh home run of the season - a three-run shot to left field - all but put the game away, giving the Titans an 8-4 lead.
Louisiana-Lafayette added two runs in the fifth on a delayed double steal of home and an RBI double by Erikka Murphy, but Fullerton added an insurance run in the fifth on Anderson's infield RBI single, scoring Ashley Carter for the final 9-6 score.
The 12 hits for the Titans on the day is their second-highest total of the season (15 vs. Southern Utah on Feb. 13), and the second time they have reached double digits in hits during the tournament, while the nine runs are the most since they scored the same number against Santa Clara on March 14.
Cal State Fullerton returns to the diamond on Tuesday (March 23) at 6 p.m. as the Titans take on DePaul in a single game before concluding their halted game against Oregon State from March 7.