FULLERTON, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton softball team opened Big West play with two run-rule victories over Cal Poly at Anderson Family Field on Saturday. The Titans secured the series win with a 2-0 conference record and improved to 13-9 overall. 

The Titans set two season-highs with three home runs and 10 runs scored in their season-opener against Cal Poly, including Alexia Lopez's grand slam in the first game. Lopez slashed .714/.714/1.143 over two games, recording five hits, one home run, seven RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. 

Nataly Lozano slashed .667/.667/1.500 against the Mustangs with four hits, a triple, a home run, four RBI and three runs scored. Ava Arce joined Lopez and Lozano with a three-run home run and three RBI. 

As a team, the Titans slashed .447/.544/.681 against the Mustangs, defeating Cal Poly 10-2 in six innings and 9-1 in five. 

Cal State Fullerton 10, Cal Poly 2 (6 innings)

Sarah Perez led off the bottom of the first inning with a single to shallow left field before Colby McClinton moved her into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt. Lopez drove in Perez on an RBI single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. 

A two-out double down the right-field line by the Mustangs in the second inning plated two runs for the Mustangs, giving Cal Poly its only lead of the day, 2-1. 

Lozano tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth inning with a leadoff solo home run, her second home run of the season. 

Briona Ferdman led off the seven-run fifth inning with a walk in her first at-bat of the season. Perez followed with a bunt to Cal Poly's third baseman, moving herself and Ferdman 60 feet closer to home before the fielder returned the ball to the circle. 

Lopez smashed a ball over the wall for her first grand slam before Ava Arce extended Fullerton's lead to 9-2 with a three-run home run later that inning. Lopez then set a new career high with six RBI on a single up the middle to end the game in a 10-2 victory. 

GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAM ??

Alexia Lopez's bat stays hot in today's @BigWestSports opener against Cal Poly. She hit Fullerton's first grand slam of the season and her fourth home run of the year. #TusksUp pic.twitter.com/siESw5bLuG

— Titans Softball (@Fullerton_SB) March 7, 2026

Trisha McCleskey pitched her seventh complete game of the season, earning her eighth win of the year. Across six innings, McCleskey retired six batters on strikes, allowed two earned runs on three hits and walked one. 

Cal State Fullerton 9, Cal Poly 1 (5 innings)

Sarah Coccillos started the scoring in the first inning with a hit into left field, driving home Perez and McClinton, who both reached on base hits. Lozano followed with a single to plate two additional runs on a single into right field for a 4-0 lead. 

Lopez collected her seventh RBI of the day on a single to right-center in the second inning for a 5-0 lead. Perez, who slapped a ball to shortstop and stole second base, scored on the play. 

Cal Poly scored a run in the top of the fourth inning on a base hit to the outfield, cutting Fullerton's lead to 5-1. However, the Titans answered in the bottom half of the inning. McClinton tied the team's season high with six stolen bases, stealing her second bag of the game and improving to 6-for-6 overall in stolen base attempts this season. 

The fourth inning continued as Lozano gave the Titans a 7-1 lead with a triple to right field with runners on the corners and two outs on the board. The Titans added two more runs in the fourth for a 9-1 lead and set a new single-game season high with eight stolen bases. 

Eva Hurtado improved to 3-3 on the season after pitching four effective innings. The sophomore right-hander allowed one run on three hits and one walk while striking out four batters. Leanna Garcia handled the fifth inning, allowing no hits and striking out two. 

The Titans look to complete the conference-opening series sweep over Cal Poly on Sunday at noon. 

SUPPORT THE TITANS!
Fans can purchase tickets for various Cal State Fullerton athletic events by visiting FullertonTitansTickets.com. The Athletic Ticket Office can also be contacted by phone at 657-278-2783 or by email at athletictixs@fullerton.edu. The Ticket Office is located at the Titan Baseball ticketing office and is open from 10 am – 4 pm PT, Monday – Friday.

FOLLOW THE TITANS!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Titan Athletics by following us on Facebook (Facebook/FullertonTitans), X (@FullertonTitans), Instagram (@FullertonTitans), YouTube (FullertonTitansAthletics) and TikTok (@FullertonTitans). In addition, the softball team has established its own Instagram (@Fullerton_sb) and X accounts (@Fullerton_sb).

WATCH THE TITANS ON ESPN+
Titans fans can now watch home contests exclusively on ESPN+. Cal State Fullerton has built a top-tier production studio to give the viewers an ESPN-quality production for Titans Athletics. Additionally, all schools in the Big West Conference are committed to producing ESPN-quality streams, which will allow fans to watch the Titans on ESPN+ for all road conference games.