Cox Finds Corners, Titans Win Title

Humility can be, as Jodie Cox said, “a blessing in disguise.”

And that’s what it was for Cal State Fullerton, a softball team that lost its first two games of the Kia Klassic, but emerged as champion for the first time since 1992.

Cox pitched a three-hitter against DePaul, the 11th-ranked team in the nation, to lead ninth-ranked Fullerton to a 1-0 victory Sunday.

It was the Titans’ ninth title in 22 years of hosting the tournament, but it was their first appearance in the final since 1995.

“Pride is the word for us this year,” said Titan Coach Michelle Gromacki, who won three tournament titles while she was a catcher at Fullerton in the mid-1980s. “It’s something we were trying to define this weekend.”

It became apparent after the Titans’ inauspicious start--back-to-back losses to North Carolina and 10th-ranked Arizona State in pool play of the 16-team tournament, which had 10 of the nation’s top 25 teams.

The Titans (25-8) reeled off victories over Louisiana-Lafayette, 1-0; 12th-ranked Washington, 8-1; 14th-ranked Notre Dame, 5-4, and DePaul, the Titans’ fifth win in a row. They also beat DePaul in pool play.

“Outside the College World Series, this is the most prestigious, toughest tournament in the country,” Gromacki said. “I don’t know that I was optimistic we were going to win this thing.

“We had tons of adversity. The thing we talked about being key was stop trying to be perfect and play with pride--at the end of the game, walk from the dugout proud. I think we gained a lot as a team.”

With pride would come confidence.

“This was a major accomplishment,” said catcher Jenny Topping, who followed Julie Watson’s leadoff double with an RBI single in the first inning. “This shows what’s to come.”

Every team in the tournament lost at least two games, except for fifth-ranked Oklahoma, which lost only to DePaul in the quarterfinals.

“It’s not so much how you start [this tournament], but how you finish,” said Blue Demon Coach Eugene Lenti. “Both teams came out of our pool and made things happen.”

Neither coach expected a 1-0 championship, but Topping knew during warmups that DePaul was in for a long day.

“From the moment we warmed up, I knew nobody was going to hit off [Cox],” said Topping, who had the decisive RBI with a solo home run against Notre Dame (18-3) in the semifinal earlier in the day. “She was focused, she was precise.”

Cox allowed hits in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings; she walked one, hit one and had two runners thrown out by Topping while attempting to steal. She faced three batters over the minimum, struck out six and out-dueled Sarah Martz (8-3), who gave up six hits but forced the Titans to strand eight runners.

“I thought we would have a slugfest,” said Lenti, whose team made its first finals appearance in seven trips. “The umpire kept calling the corners and that’s where [Cox] kept putting the ball.”