Ranked Teams Fill Field for Titans’ Softball Tournament
Cal State Fullerton hosts its annual PONY Invitational softball tournament, which will bring together 10 teams ranked among the nation’s top 16.
Preliminary rounds begin today and continue Thursday and Friday before the championship rounds begin Friday night. The title game is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
In addition to the fifth-ranked Titans, the 16-team field will include nine other ranked teams: Arizona (No. 2), Washington (3), Fresno State (4), Cal State Northridge (6), Nevada Las Vegas (7), South Carolina (8), Southwestern Louisiana (10), Oklahoma (14) and Minnesota (16).
Titan Coach Judi Garman said UCLA, the nation’s top-ranked team, has been reluctant to play in the tournament. “The same way they’ve chosen not to play against us in recent years,” Garman said. “The last time they played here was in a mini-tournament in 1990 that had the top teams from the Pacific 10 and the Big West.”
Despite UCLA’s absence, Garman thinks the field will be the strongest for any tournament until the Women’s College World Series. “And even then, some good teams always lose before that in the regionals,” she said.
The Titans (20-9) open play at 7 tonight against Minnesota. Cal State Northridge plays Georgia State at 5 p.m. in today’s only other game.
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