FULLERTON, Calif. – The top-seeded Cal State Fullerton softball team defeated No. 2-seeded Hawai'i, 6-4, in a tough-fought battle at the Big West Championship on Friday. The Titans improved to 39-13 overall and 2-0 in the tournament. Â
This matchup featured the conference's two highest-seeded teams and the Big West Co-Coaches of the Year.Â
Eva Hurtado made back-to-back starts in the circle for the Titans and opened the game with a swinging strikeout. The Rainbow Wahine stranded runners on the corners later in the first as
Sarah Perez fielded a ball up the middle for the third out.Â
Perez (2-for-4, 2 R) extended her hitting streak to 18 games in the bottom half of the first with a single to right field.
Colby McClinton (3-for-3, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R) singled with a bunt to the pitcher before
Alexia Lopez lined an RBI single to center field with two outs.Â
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A wild pitch by Hawai'i allowed McClinton to score from third, extending Fullerton's lead to 2-0 in the first inning.Â
Hawai'i answered with two runs in the top of the second, tying the game on a throwing error and an RBI single to center field.Â
The Rainbow Wahine took a 4-2 lead in the third on a two-run home run over the head of
Jenica Silvas in left field, pressuring Fullerton to turn to its bullpen. Over two innings of work, Hurtado allowed four runs, two earned, on three hits. She walked three and retired one on strikes.
Trisha McCleskey entered in the third inning with bases empty and no outs.Â
Fullerton stayed quiet offensively until the fifth inning, when Silvas drew a leadoff walk. Perez reached on a fielder's choice, bringing McClinton to the plate. After laying down a bunt in her previous two at-bats, McClinton hit a two-run home run to right-center to even the score at 4-4.Â
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McClinton delivered another two-run homer of the day in the bottom of the seventh to push the Titans past the Rainbow Wahine in a 6-4 walk-off victory. The Kaneohe, Hawai'i native brought her season totals to nine home runs and 42 RBI.Â
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McCleskey held Hawai'i scoreless through five innings, allowing two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.Â
With the win, the Titans advanced to the Big West Championship final on Saturday, May 9, at 1 p.m.Â
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