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Cal State Fullerton

Trisha McCleskey at NCAA Regional
Photo Courtesy of Kristalyn Romulo
4
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 40-14
7
Winner South Carolina SC 31-26
Cal St. Fullerton CSF
40-14
4
Final
7
South Carolina SC
31-26
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Cal St. Fullerton CSF 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 4 8 2
South Carolina SC 0 2 1 0 0 4 X 7 10 3

W: Jori Heard (12-11) L: McCleskey, Trisha (17-10)

Game Recap: Softball |

Titans Fall to South Carolina in NCAA Los Angeles Regional Opener

Kate Verhoef drives in two runs, Sarah Perez extends hitting streak to 20 games in close battle

NCAA Postgame Press Conference

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Cal State Fullerton softball team fell to South Carolina, 7-4, in its NCAA Regional opener Friday at Easton Stadium. The Titans battled through six total ties and lead changes against the Gamecocks before dropping to 40-14 overall and 0-1 in the program's 33rd NCAA Tournament appearance. 

Trisha McClesksey and Emma Friedel of South Carolina opened the tournament with scoreless innings, featuring the help of a diving catch by Kate Verhoef in center field to end the first inning. 
 
The Titans beat the Gamecocks to the board in the second inning with a double by Verhoef that scored Alexia Lopez and Lulu Sanchez for a 2-0 lead. Lopez and Sanchez both reached base on singles through opposite sides of the field. 



South Carolina responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the second to tie the game before taking their first lead, 3-2, on an RBI double down the first-base line.  

Two defensive miscues by the Gamecocks allowed Fullerton to tie the game at 3-3 in the fourth. Lopez reached second base on a dropped pop-up, and Sanchez sent a ball up the middle to drive in pinch runner Lesly Valdez. 

Sarah Perez extended her hitting streak to 20 games with a leadoff single up the middle in the fifth. After advancing to third base on a third South Carolina error, Ava Arce drove her in with a long-hit single off the left-field wall to give the Titans a 4-3 lead. 



McCleskey escaped a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the fifth with a swinging strikeout. However, the right-hander's night came to a close in the sixth after South Carolina took a 7-4 lead on an RBI single and a three-run home run. South Carolina scored seven runs on 10 hits, while McCleskey issued one walk and collected three strikeouts. Eva Hurtado entered in relief and retired her first batter on a groundout. 

The Titans will face the loser of Friday night's game between Cal Baptist and No. 8 UCLA on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. 

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.
 
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