Cal State Fullerton Softball Tournament : Titans, Clark Shut Down Fresno State for Title

Being a good fast-pitch softball pitcher is like being a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas--you never deal out royal flushes or even many face cards.

The pitcher controls the pace of the game. Take Cal State Fullerton’s Connie Clark. She throws perfect strikes that dart up in the strike zone or curve wildly out of it. With three careening, perfectly aimed throws, she can make a batter’s eyes roll. Confusion. Delirium. Strikeout.

Through the first eight innings Sunday, 70 of Clark’s 97 pitches were strikes. And she continued to throw them as top-ranked Cal State Fullerton beat No. 7 Fresno State, 2-0, in 10 innings for the championship of the PONY Invitational softball tournament at Fullerton.

It was the sixth time in eight years that Fullerton won its own tournament, and it was the Titans’ second consecutive showdown with Fresno State for the championship.

The game was scoreless after nine innings, so in the 10th, the international tiebreaker rule went into effect, and a runner was placed on second base.

Freshman Tiny Glomboske hit a hard single, scoring Valerie Van Kirk, who had been put at second, and Cheryl Dazalla, who had walked. Both runners had advanced on an infield grounder. The Titan defense then held Fresno State scoreless for the win.

“Every time Tiny comes into the lineup, she does it for us,” said Fullerton Coach Judi Garman. “She’s just a freshman, and I don’t know how many times she’s pulled it out for us.

More than anything, though, the championship game was a display of dominating pitching--by Clark and Fresno State’s Melanie Parent. Had it not been for the tiebreaker, the game might still be going.

Last season, Clark’s earned-run average was 0.18. It is 0.20 this season. That’s three earned runs in 102 innings. She allowed five hits Sunday.

She does no celebrating after pitching a one-hitter, and she pitches one about as often as the tide comes in. Unlike baseball pitchers, she never needs an ice bag and four days’ rest. She can pitch almost every day if needed, even a doubleheader, because there is so little strain on the arm and shoulder with the underhand delivery.

“I had a tough tournament. I was a little frustrated,” said Clark, who won her 15th game without a loss. “My arm feels a little ragged. It wasn’t that I threw that many innings, but I wasn’t getting the pop out of the ball that I usually get.

“Looking at the stats, it looks like I pitched well, but I hardly ever felt I was in control. I felt the catcher and I were sometimes not in the game.”

That seemed especially true in the eighth inning, when Clark gave up one hit, then hit the next batter. She regained her composure, though, and completed the inning without giving up a run. She struck out the side in the ninth.

“In that inning where I struck everyone out, I felt like my old self,” said Clark. “Whatever the catcher called I threw, and it hit the strike zone.”

In spite of the extra pressure of a runner placed at second, Clark and her defense remained strong in the tiebreaker. Clark walked one batter but retired the next three.

“Connie did an excellent job of placing the ball,” said Garman, “but in warmups she said she was tired and her ball wasn’t popping. I’m just glad the team picked up the slack. . . . We did well defensively but not offensively.”

The Titans (27-2) are scheduled to play a doubleheader Monday against Nevada Las Vegas, but Garman said she was going to rest Clark. That came as news to Clark, who figured she would be pitching. After all, she usually is.

Tournament Notes In Sunday’s semifinal games, Fullerton’s Chris Gage pitched a six-hitter to defeat Michigan, 3-1. In the other semifinal, Fresno State’s Carie Dever scored a run in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie and beat Arizona, 2-1.