FULLERTON, Calif. – The Fullerton Titans Softball team swept the UC Riverside Highlanders at home on Thursday evening. The Titans starting pitchers shined for Fullerton as Trisha McCleskey pitched a complete game one and Eva Hurtado struck out a career high 10 batters in game two.
 
Cal State Fullerton 5, UC Riverside 1
The Titans opened Thursday's doubleheader with a 5-1 win over the Highlanders. Trisha McCleskey pitched seven innings, allowing two hits and one unearned run. McClesky struck out seven Highlanders in game one.
 
Fullerton struck first in the bottom of the third. Kate Verhoef walked on four straight balls and stole second to get into scoring position before Colby McClinton traded spots with her, hitting an RBI double to left center field. Alexia Lopez followed up with another double to left center field, driving in a second run for a 2-0 lead after three frames.
 
The Titans held the Highlanders scoreless through five, before tacking on two more insurance runs. Verhoef reached base on an error and eventually made her way to third on a stolen base and wild pitch. Jenica Silvas was hit by a pitch, bringing Sarah Perez to the plate with no outs. A single through the middle brought home two more runs, giving the Titans a 4-0 lead over UCR.
 
Ava Arce kicked off the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff double. Lesly Valdez entered the game to pinch run and advanced to third on a single from Verhoef. The Titans tallied their fifth run of the night as Valdez was caught stealing second.
 
The Highlanders made their way on the board in the top of the seventh on a sacrifice fly before the Titans retired the final batter, taking game one of two on Thursday.
 
Cal State Fullerton 7, UC Riverside 0
The Fullerton Titans shut out the Highlanders in game two against UC Riverside. Eva Hurtado pitched a scoreless seven innings and rang up a career-high 10 strike outs. 
 
The Titans wasted no time, taking an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. A triple from McClinton put a runner in scoring position for Lopez who hit a sacrifice fly putting Fullerton on top.
 
In the second inning, Verhoef reached base on an error, giving Maggie Paulovich the chance to run home, giving the Titans a 2-0 lead. A fourth inning double from Paulovich drove in the Titans' third run of the game.  
 
Fullerton had a big fifth inning, breaking open the game for the Titans. Perez hit a leadoff single and stole second. McClinton walked before Lopez drove in Perez with an RBI single. Sarah Coccillos broke the game open with a three-run home run over the left field wall, putting Fullerton up 7-0 at the end of the fifth frame.
 
Lopez led the Titans, going five for six on Thursday with a total of three RBI's on the night.
 
The Titans are back in action on Friday at 6 pm for the series finale against the Highlanders.
 
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