NCAA Softball Playoffs : Fullerton Swept Away by Pomona

The first game of Cal State Fullerton’s National Collegiate Athletic Assn. regional series against Cal Poly Pomona was decided by a whisker-thin margin. But in the second game--the deciding game--the Broncos left no room for doubt.

Pomona, keyed by pitcher Nicky Luce’s two-run double, erupted for four runs in the third inning Saturday and took a 4-1 victory over Fullerton at the Titan Softball Complex. The Broncos’ sweep of the best-of-three series gave them a berth in the College World Series next week in Sunnyvale.

Pomona won the first game Friday in a 10th-inning tiebreaker, 1-0.

“The thing that makes you not feel bad is that you got beaten by a better team, not by a bad call or something,” Fullerton Coach Judi Garman said. “They beat us in every category. No question, they deserve to go. They were the better ball team all weekend.”

They were not, perhaps, the better team all season. Three times, the Broncos had losing streaks of three or more games, once losing six in a row. But with the sweep of Fullerton, they have won 14 of their past 16.

“At the beginning of the year, we figured we might play .500 ball, and it would be a miracle if we made the regionals,” Pomona Coach Carol Spanks said. “Now we’re one of the top eight.”

Pomona (42-21) will play Oregon in its first game of the eight-team College World Series, which begins Wednesday. Last year, the Broncos finished third in the Series.

Fullerton (47-15) was eliminated from the NCAA regionals for the second year in a row.

After playing nine scoreless innings the night before, the teams’ offenses heated up early Saturday.

In the top of the third, Fullerton put runners on first and third with one out. But Buffy Sanchez lined out to Luce, who threw to first to retire Carey Hess.

Pomona struck in the bottom of the inning. Margy Pedroza led off with a single and was safe at second on a fielder’s choice after Kathy Twisselman’s bunt. Heather DeLuca moved the runners over with a sacrifice bunt, bringing up Luce, who led Cypress High School to the Southern Section 4-A title in 1987.

She lined a hit to the left-field corner, the ball wedging into the fence at the base of the foul pole 190 feet out as Pedroza and Twisselman scored. Denise Correa followed with a double, driving in Luce with the third run. Garman then sent in Anjie Bryant to replace Ann Van Dortrecht (19-8). Correa eventually scored Pomona’s final run.

Bryant gave the Titans their only run with a home run, her first, in the fourth inning. The Titans, who hit poorly with runners on base during the series, didn’t get another runner past second.

In the sixth, with none out and a runner on first, Missy Coombes lined into a double play and Bryant popped up to end the inning.

In the seventh Fullerton had a runner on first with two outs when catcher Debbie Hartwig lined to short. But Shellie McCall dropped the ball, leaving runners on first and second. Next up was pinch-hitter Mich DeBree, who lined to Heather DeLuca, the Broncos’ sharp-fielding third baseman. DeLuca bobbled the ball, giving Fullerton hope for a split-second before she hauled it in for the final out.

Luce (20-11) got the victory and Lori Thompson pitched three innings for her second save, extending her scoreless streak to 67 innings.