Cal State Fullerton Finally Runs Out of Innings

Cal State Fullerton won three games in the PONY Invitational softball tournament in its last at-bat, two of them in eighth-inning tie-breakers, but the Titans’ late-inning magic ended Sunday.

Washington, the nation’s second-ranked team, ended Fullerton’s six-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory in the semifinals behind senior Heather Meyer (7-0), who gave up four hits and struck out 10.

“We just can’t wait until the seventh inning and expect to pull it out all the time,” said Titan Coach Judi Garman, whose seventh-ranked team fell to 25-10. “This time we ran out of innings.”

The tournament championship went to No. 1-ranked Arizona (28-3), a 9-0 winner over Washington (28-5) in a game stopped in the fifth inning by the eight-run mercy rule. Arizona defeated Nevada Las Vegas, 6-3, in the other semifinal.

Garman said she had been concerned about Washington’s strong hitting, but Meyer’s pitching was the difference. “Their pitcher did a great job,” Garman said. “We’ve been able to handle the pitchers with speed lately, but she was able to mix it up well with off-speed pitches.”

Garman didn’t think her players adjusted as well as they might have. “We were caught looking on four of her strikeouts,” Garman said. “She went to the outside of the plate on two strikes most of the time, and our hitters didn’t react to it.”

Fullerton pitcher Brandi Isgar, who fell to 12-6, kept the Huskies scoreless for the first five innings before running into trouble in the sixth. Tami Storseth and Becky Newbry had consecutive hits to open the sixth, and Garman brought in Liza Brown to face Sara Pickering. Pickering lashed a changeup into center, driving in Forseth. Brown got the next three batters in order, but the Titans weren’t able to overcome the one-run deficit. “I thought about pulling Brandi an inning earlier,” Garman said. “She was outstanding last night [against Southwest Louisiana], but she wasn’t at her best this time. But her leg started bothering her today.”

Isgar said she strained the hamstring in her left leg when she skidded on loose dirt on the mound Wednesday night. “It was hurting me bad from last night, but I thought I could get through it, and that’s why I was disappointed when I had to come out,” said Isgar.

Isgar, the winning pitcher against Southwestern Louisiana Saturday night, gave up five hits to Washington, striking out two and walking one. Brown gave up only the one hit in two innings, striking out three.

Infielders Traci Fischer and Chris Zboril each had two hits against Meyer, but the others in the lineup struggled. The Titans had their best scoring opportunity in the fourth when Zboril singled to open the inning, advanced on a sacrifice and moved to third on Fischer’s hit, but the next two batters failed to bring in a run.

“Not getting a run in that inning really hurt,” Garman said.