Titans, 49ers Open in Softball

Two of the Big West Conference’s best softball pitchers will square off tonight at 7:30 when Cal State Fullerton plays host to Cal State Long Beach in the first game of a best-of-three NCAA region series.

The teams will meet again Saturday at 1 p.m., with a third game to follow if necessary. The region winner will advance to the College World Series, which begins Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

The Titans (44-21) are led by sophomore right-hander Ann Van Dortrecht, the conference pitcher of the year, who has a 28-10 record, a 0.44 earned-run average, 211 strikeouts and 17 shutouts.

The 49ers (45-16) will counter with freshman right-hander Mary Letourneau, who is 20-8 with an 0.43 ERA and 14 shutouts. Long Beach, ranked fourth in the nation, has won four of five games over the fifth-ranked Titans this season, and all games have been decided by one run.

“There’s no drastic differences between our teams,” Fullerton Coach Judi Garman said. “They’ve just gotten the key hits at the right time. The series will be decided by who puts two hits together, who gets the bunts down, who gets the breaks.”

Fullerton is led offensively by third baseman Joy Tiner, who is batting .313 with 10 doubles and 15 RBIs. Long Beach, which has won eight in a row and 21 of its last 24 games, is led by outfielders Carrie Smith and Gia Wilkerson, who are both batting .259.

Fullerton’s Van Dortrecht and Tiner were named to the coaches’ All-West Region first team, and first baseman Missy Coombs and utility player Carrie Hess were named to the second team.