Twins Find Success at Miami of Ohio

Opponents of the Miami of Ohio softball team must feel as though they’re seeing double this season.

Two sets of twins from Orange County are on the RedHawk roster.

Juniors Laura and Lesley Fulton of Westminster are regulars on the infield and sophomores Abbey and Amber Arnold of Dana Point are two of the team’s top pitchers. The Fulton twins played at Rosary High and the Arnolds at St. Margaret’s.

Abbey Arnold set a single-season strikeout record at Miami last year as a freshman with 153. That wiped out a nine-year-old record set by Kristy Burch, who struck out 121. Arnold made 40 appearances, also a single-season record, and compiled a 7-16 record and 3.31 earned-run average.

Amber Arnold was 3-7 with a 3.50 ERA and 83 strikeouts. She missed part of the season with a knee injury.

Laura Fulton, the RedHawks’ second baseman, ranked second on the team in hitting last season with a .306 batting average. Her 21 runs batted in were second on the team. She batted .304, fourth-best on the team, as a freshman.

Lesley Fulton, the RedHawk shortstop, led the team in RBIs with 25. She is 19 RBIs away from equaling the RedHawks’ third-best career total.

Miami of Ohio, off to a 6-4 start this season, was 15-36 last season.

NOTEWORTHY

Jen Ludwicki, a 5-11 forward who played at Fountain Valley High and Orange Coast College, is having a good season for the University of New Orleans women’s basketball team. She has scored 20 or more points in eight games and is averaging 15.7 points for the season.

Beau Rawi, a sophomore who played at Capistrano Valley High, is the starting middle blocker for the USC men’s volleyball team for the second consecutive season. He leads the team in blocks with 70, is averaging 3.10 kills per game and has a .441 hitting percentage. USC is ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Two former area athletes are competing for the Brigham Young women’s track and field team this season. Maika Nelson (Brea Olinda High) finished eighth in the 800 meters and Sara Higham (Mission Viejo High) was second in the pole vault at 11 feet 8 inches in the recent Mountain State Games at Weber State.

Jason Martini (Ocean View High) had a good week with the Cal State Los Angeles baseball team against Cal State San Bernardino recently. Martini, a sophomore first baseman, had four runs batted in on a double and home run in one game, a home run and two doubles in another. For the week, Martini was five for 11 with seven runs batted in.