COLLEGE ROUNDUP : PONY Softball Begins Today at Fullerton

The Cal State Fullerton campus is the place to be this week if you’re a college softball fan . . . and the weather cooperates.

The Titans are one of 16 teams set to compete in the PONY-Louisville Slugger tournament, which each year attracts many of the nation’s leading teams. Seven of the teams ranked in the preseason top 10 and 11 of the top 20 are entered, including top-ranked Arizona. Others from the top 10 are Oklahoma State and Southwestern Louisiana, tied for third, along with Cal State Northridge (No. 6), Fresno State (No. 7) and Florida State and Nevada Las Vegas (tied for No. 9). The first regular-season rankings will be released in a week.

“This is probably the strongest year we’ve had, but there are always more strong teams here for this tournament than any place except the World Series,” Fullerton Coach Judi Garman said. “We’ve got about 30 schools on the waiting list right now wanting to get into the tournament in the future.

“We’re hoping the weather will cooperate this year. We’ve had rain the last two years, and last year we had to eliminate a round of the consolation games.”

The threat of rain already has led to an accelerated schedule for today. Fullerton will play Florida State at 3 p.m. and Northwestern at 5. The final is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Today’s Pool Play

11 a.m.--Northwestern-Florida State, Utah State-Georgia State; 1 p.m.--Massachusetts-Minnesota, Utah State-Kansas; 3 p.m.--Fullerton-Florida State, Kansas-Georgia State; 5 p.m.--Fullerton-Northwestern, Cal State Northridge-Massachusetts; 7 p.m.--Northridge-Minnesota.