Softball Team Begins to Bounce Back

When Cal State Fullerton’s softball team opened its season with 11-6 and 14-1 losses to Stanford two weeks ago, Coach Judi Garman was more than a little concerned.

“It didn’t seem like we could even catch a fly ball in that one game,” Garman said.

The Titans lost five of their first seven games. Not the kind of performance you would expect from a team that traditionally ranks among the nation’s best.

But Fullerton, ranked No. 12 nationally, seems to be back to its old ways after winning five in a row last week at the Florida tournament in Gainesville.

“We’re so young as a team that it took awhile for our players to develop confidence in themselves and in each other,” Garman said. “There’s no comparison with the team now and the way it was against Stanford. It has really been a dramatic change.”

Two newcomers have quickly established themselves as key players.

Sophomore second baseman Nikki Hart is leading the team in batting with a .463 average, and junior transfer Donna Coombes pitched a perfect game against Purdue in the first half of a doubleheader, then won the second game in relief Sunday.

Hart, who transferred to Fullerton after one season at Oregon State, also leads the team in runs scored with 14. She had 14 hits in 18 at-bats with nine runs scored in the Florida tournament.

Hart played in high school at El Dorado, and she’s happy to be back close to home.

“I feel a lot more comfortable being at Fullerton, and maybe that’s one of the reasons I’m hitting better,” Hart said. “My concentration is a lot better this season. It’s like I’m in a bubble when I’m hitting, and I hope I can keep that going. I’ve also changed my stance a little and that seems to have helped too.”

Coombes’ older sister, Missy, was a Titan All-American in 1989 as a first baseman and is now a pitcher for the Colorado Silver Bullets women’s professional team.

Donna Coombes played at Arcadia High, then two years at Tallahassee (Fla.) College before transferring to Fullerton.

“Her confidence improved a lot in Florida,” Garman said. “She has good off-speed pitches, and her changeup is starting to work very well. Pitching was a big question mark for us at the start of the season, and all of our pitchers had too many walks at the start of the season. They seem to be settling in now. The pitching is better than we thought it would be at this stage.”

Coombes is 4-2 with a 2.90 earned-run average, and sophomore Jana Oetgen is 3-2 with a 4.26 ERA. The third pitcher is freshman Danielle Ferreira (1-1, 3.23 ERA).

The Titans play their first Big West game of the season Sunday at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

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The women’s basketball team still has a mathematical chance of winning a berth in the Big West postseason tournament, but the Titans are a longshot after losing to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and UC Santa Barbara last week.

Fullerton would have to win its final two regular-season games, at UC Irvine Thursday and at home Saturday against Nevada, and either Long Beach State or Pacific would have to lose both remaining games for Fullerton to make the field.

The Titans (10-14, 5-8 in the Big West) are in fifth place in the Western Division, a game behind Long Beach State. Should Long Beach and Fullerton tie for fourth place, the 49ers would get the berth because of an advantage in the tie-breaker.

Titan Notes

The men’s basketball team is locked into the No. 4 spot in the Western Division and will play the top-seeded team in the Eastern Division in its Big West tournament opener March 7 at Reno. . . . Gymnast Alexis Lott is expected to be back competing in either one or two events in Sunday’s meet at UCLA. She re-injured the knee that required surgery a year ago in a meet Feb. 8 at Boise State. Katy Maty continues to turn in strong performances in the all-around. She had a winning score of 9.375 last weekend against San Jose State.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Cal State Fullerton:

* Men’s basketball against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Thursday and against UC Santa Barbara Saturday, both at 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.

* Women’s basketball at UC Irvine at 5 p.m. Thursday, and against Nevada at 5 p.m. Saturday at Titan Gym.

* Baseball against San Diego 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and at 1 p.m. Sunday at Titan Field.