NCAA SOFTBALL WEST REGIONAL : Titans Dumped Twice; 49ers Reach College Series

Cal State Long Beach pitcher Ruby Flores threw all the junk she had at Cal State Fullerton Saturday and was able to trash the Titans’ hopes of advancing to the College Softball World Series.

The sophomore from Sunny Hills High School pitched a six-hit shutout in the first game to lead the 49ers to a 4-0 victory. She then pitched 5 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to win the second game and Long Beach edged the Titans, 2-1, in 16 innings.

Six hours and 45 minutes after the teams began play Saturday, Marian Mendoza, a sophomore from Garden Grove High, put an end to the best-of-three NCAA regional by hitting a two-out single to center field to score Sandra Ross in the top of the 16th. Ross is a freshman from Marina.

The fourth-ranked 49ers (47-17) advance to the College World Series at Oklahoma City and will play Big West-rival Nevada Las Vegas in a first-round game Wednesday. Fifth-ranked Fullerton, which beat Long Beach Friday night, closed the season with a 45-23 record and visions of Flores’ pitches dancing in their heads.

The right-hander’s extensive collection of off-speed and breaking pitches didn’t baffle the Titans--they didn’t strike out once against her all day. But Flores kept Fullerton off balance for most of the afternoon, inducing many softly hit outs and increasing her string of scoreless innings against the Titans to 32.

“Fullerton has a lot of big-swinging girls, and her off-speed pitches and finesse kept them off stride,” Long Beach Coach Pete Manarino said.

The 49ers beat the Titans for the sixth time in eight tries this season, and six of those games have gone into extra innings.

“It has been like this all year against Fullerton,” Manarino said. “Any time you beat Fullerton six times in one season, you deserve to go to the World Series.”

Long Beach won the first game on the strength of Flores’ pitching and a four-run fourth that was highlighted by Carrie Smith’s three-run double.

Smith’s hit might not have done as much damage had Titan pitcher Ann Van Dortrecht completed an attempted force play at third. With one out and runners on first and second, Lisa Pedersen, a senior from Cypress High, grounded back to Van Dortrecht, whose low throw got past third baseman Joy Tiner.

Kim Kostyk scored on the play and runners advanced to second and third. After an intentional walk to Steffani Everett to load the bases, Smith unloaded on Van Dortrecht, lining a double into the left-field corner that scored three runs.

Fullerton had some offensive success against Flores, collecting two hits in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but the Titans couldn’t come up with a clutch RBI hit.

They got off to a good start against 49er ace Mary Letourneau in the second game, though. Mich DeBree doubled and scored on Charlotte Wiley’s single in the first inning.

But Long Beach came back against Titan starter Shireen Campbell when Everett doubled in the second and scored on Gia Wilkerson’s single.

Tracy Tousley replaced Campbell in the second and threw 2 2/3 scoreless innings before being relieved by Van Dortrecht in the fifth.

Van Dortrecht didn’t allow a run until the 16th. Ross hit a two-out single and advanced to second on Kostyk’s single. Mendoza lined a single to center, and DeBree’s throw to the plate was off line as Ross scored.

After the first inning, Fullerton mounted only three other scoring threats against Letourneau, who lasted until the 11th. Flores, who replaced Letourneau with runners on first and second and one out, retired the Titans on two infield popups.

“Our biggest weakness all year has been quiet bats,” Fullerton Coach Judi Garman said. “We had a couple of key chances with runners on second base and some of our top hitters up, but they didn’t do the job.”