NCAA SOFTBALL : Long Beach Sweeps Fullerton, Advances
For the third consecutive year, the Cal State Long Beach softball team eliminated Cal State Fullerton in the NCAA Regionals by sweeping a doubleheader after losing the opening game.
The 49ers (39-30) continued their dominance of Fullerton (45-20) in the tournament with 2-1 and 4-0 victories Sunday at the Titan Sports Complex in Fullerton to advance to the College World Series, scheduled for May 21-25 at Oklahoma City.
Long Beach, which dropped three of four Big West Conference games to Fullerton this season, lost to the Titans, 3-2, in 11 innings Saturday in the first round of the double-elimination tournament.
On Sunday, Long Beach’s Stacy Van Essen (15-11) pitched a three-hitter to win the first game.
In the second game, Long Beach combined nine hits with three Fullerton errors to score four unearned runs against right-hander Tiffany Boyd (30-7), the Big West pitcher of the year.
The 49ers got two runs each in the top of the first and sixth innings and held Fullerton scoreless with solid defense and the pitching of Mary Letourneau (13-12). The junior right-hander, who lost to the Titans on Saturday, scattered six hits.
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