COLLEGE ROUNDUP : Boyd’s on the Ball Again for Titans

Tiffany Boyd pitched a one-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead the Titans, the ninth-ranked softball team in the nation, to a 1-0 victory over Western Illinois in the quarterfinals of the 13th Cal State Fullerton PONY Tournament Saturday at Fullerton.

Boyd (15-5) won her seventh consecutive game for the Titans (22-11). Marci White’s single drove home Karin Knoop in the the fifth inning. Stef Ryan had the only hit for Western Illinois (7-6).

Fullerton advances to the semifinals to face Missouri, a 1-0 winner in eight innings over Utah, at 9 a.m. today. Arizona, a 1-0 winner over Nevada Las Vegas, and Cal Poly Pomona, a 2-1 winner over Fresno State, meet in the second semifinal at 11 a.m. The championship game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

In the first-round game Saturday, Boyd pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts and Fullerton defeated Minnesota, 3-0. Rose Garces had two hits and the game’s only run batted in. Leslie Weiss had the only hit for 11th-ranked Minnesota.

In the Big West women’s gymnastics championships:

Cal State Fullerton Second--Celeste Delia was the high all-around and vault scorer and Titan teammate Wendy Minch won the uneven bars, but host Utah State edged Fullerton, 192.7-191, for the team title. UC Santa Barbara was third and San Jose State fourth.

In the UC Irvine men’s tennis tournament:

UC Irvine 6, Utah 3--Brett Hansen-Dent, Charles Wheeler and Neel Grover won in singles and doubles as the top-seeded Anteaters (7-7) won a fifth-place semifinal at the Park Newport Hotel.

Washington and Alabama Birmingham won semifinal matches and will meet for the championship at 1 p.m. today at UC Irvine.

In the consolation semifinals of the Titan women’s tennis tournament:

Texas El Paso 5, Cal State Fullerton 4--Fullerton’s Marni Matsumoto was injured in a one-car accident driving to the match and the Titans (0-14) had to default both matches she was scheduled to play. Matsumoto, a sophomore from La Palma, was listed in critical condition at UCI Medical Center.

Roseann Alva won at No. 1 singles and doubles for Fullerton, which will play Cal State Northridge at 8 a.m. today for seventh place.

Drake defeated Colorado, 5-4, to reach the finals. Oregon leads Cal State Sacramento, 4-3, in the other semifinal, which was stopped by darkness and will be resumed at 7:30 a.m. today.

In the Indiana Purdue Ft. Wayne men’s volleyball tournament:

Ball State 3, UC Irvine 0--Leland Quinn had 11 kills as the Anteaters (5-15) lost, 15-6, 15-8, 15-5.