Oetgen’s Pitching Helps Put the Titans in Quarterfinals

Pitching is a big part of success in softball, and it gave Cal State Fullerton the advantage it needed Friday night.

Sophomore Jana Oetgen pitched a three-hit shutout, and the Titans gave her plenty of support in a 5-0 victory over Florida in the PONY Invitational tournament at the Titan Softball Complex.

The first-round victory advances Fullerton (10-12) to the quarterfinals today at 3 p.m. against Oregon State (14-9). Florida (22-20) will play Oklahoma State (22-10) in a 3 p.m. consolation game. Oregon State defeated the Cowboys, 3-0, in another first-round game Friday.

Arizona, the nation’s top-ranked team with a 29-0 record, overwhelmed Nevada Las Vegas, 17-0, Friday night and remains favored to win the championship in a field that also includes second-ranked Fresno State.

Coach Judi Garman thinks her Titans also could be a factor if they continue to get strong pitching from Oetgen.

“We’ll go with her as far as we can the way she’s pitching right now,” Garman said. The victory evened Oetgen’s record at 5-5.

The Titans had 10 hits, nine of them off starter Beth Dieter. Outfielder Rachel Olvera had three of them.

The Titans took advantage of Olvera’s speed for a run in the first. Olvera, the fastest player on the team, tripled and scored easily on Oetgen’s ground ball to third.

Florida had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth, but Oetgen got out of the inning without giving up a run when Jen Cordero bounced into a double play. That was the only inning that she was in serious danger of giving up a run.

The Titans came back for another run in the bottom of the fourth on only one hit. Bevan Trueblood singled to start the inning. She was replaced by pinch runner Carrie Davis, who advanced on a sacrifice and went to third on a wild pitch. She scored when Julie Williams grounded out.

Fullerton scored three more runs in the sixth with Williams getting a double that produced two runs.

The Titans lost their final game in pool play to fifth-ranked Washington, 12-4, earlier in the day. Fullerton finished the preliminary round with a 2-1 record after victories over Georgia State and Southwestern Louisiana.