Titan Softball Team Earns NCAA Playoff Berth

The Cal State Fullerton softball team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and will play host to Cal State Long Beach in a best-of-three series this weekend.

The Titans (44-21) and 49ers (45-16) will play on Friday at 7:30 p.m. and on Saturday at 1 p.m. If necessary, the third game will follow the second on Saturday.

The series winner advances to the College World Series, May 23-27 at Oklahoma City.

Fullerton, ranked fifth in the nation, and fourth-ranked Long Beach have met five times this season, with the 49ers winning four. But all five games were decided by one run, and two went into extra innings. Long Beach finished second to Fresno State in the Big West Conference, and Fullerton finished third.

The Titans, who lost to Cal Poly Pomona in a 1989 regional, are led by sophomore pitcher Ann Van Dortrecht, who is 28-10 with a conference-leading 0.44 earned-run average and 211 strikeouts. The 49ers will counter with freshman pitcher Mary Letourneau.

Offensively, Fullerton is led by third baseman Joy Tiner (.313, 10 doubles, 15 RBIs), center fielder Mich DeBree (.291) and shortstop Charlotte Wiley (.290).

The Titans and 49ers are two of 20 teams selected to play in eight regionals across the country. Four are two-team regionals, and four are three-team regionals, and the winner of each will advance to the College World Series.

The remaining NCAA pairings: Northern Iowa at UCLA; Oregon, Kent State at Ohio State; Nevada Las Vegas, San Jose State at California; Arizona State at Arizona; Oklahoma State, Adelphi at Connecticut; Texas A&M;, Florida State at Southwest Louisiana; Creighton at Fresno State.