FULLERTON, Calif. — The Cal State Fullerton softball team opened the 2026 season with an upset 5-4 victory over No. 24 Ole Miss before falling 11-9 in the second game on Thursday at Anderson Family Field.Â
Cal State Fullerton 5, No. 24 Ole Miss 4
The Titans scored five unanswered runs across three innings and held on for a 5-4 win over Ole Miss to open the season.
Ole Miss jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning before Alexia Lopez scored on an RBI single by Sarah Perez (1-for-2, RBI).
Sarah Coccillos (1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI) smashed a ball into left field for extra bases, scoring
Nataly Lozano and
Briona Ferdman to give the Titans a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Ole Miss tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly, but the Titans answered with two runs as
Colby McClinton (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) launched the first Titan home run of the season over the left-field wall to take a 5-3 lead.
A single through the right side cut Fullerton's lead to 5-4, but the Titans secured the opening-day upset on a fly out to right field.
Trisha McCleskey pitched a complete game in her first start of the season, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out four.
Ole Miss 11, Cal State Fullerton 9
McClinton (2-for-3, 5 RBI) quickly tied the game at 2-2 in the first inning with a single to center field.
The Titans continued to rally in the second inning, plating three runs on a single by
Kate Verhoef (1-for-3, three runs, RBI) and two additional hits to extend their lead to 5-2.
Ole Miss pulled within a run on a two-run double to right-center before tying the game at 5-5 on a sacrifice fly to left field.
The Titans and Rebels traded runs as Coccillos (1-for-4, HR,R, RBI) launched her first home run of the season over the left-field wall before the teams were tied at 6-6.
Nataly Lozano (2-for-4, R) knotted the score at 7-7 after doubling and scoring on a throwing error from the outfield. Ole Miss responded with two home runs, building an 11-7 lead on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.
A diving grab by
Sophia Newcomb (2-for-3, 2 R) in left field ended the four-run top of the sixth before McClinton drove in Verhoef and Newcomb to cut the deficit to 11-9.
Eva Hurtado (3 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) made her first start in the circle before McCleskey (2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 K) entered in relief.
Hana Winton later replaced McCleskey, who moved to 1-1 on the season, making her collegiate debut. Winton worked two innings, allowing three hits, two earned runs and one walk.
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