Saturday, April 12
Fullerton, Calif.
1:00 p.m.
California State University at Northridge
17-20, 0
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at
8
Cal State Fullerton
26-14, 0
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2
3
4
5
R
H
E
CSUN
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
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Cal State Fullerton
3
0
0
0
5
8
11
0
Photo by: Chuck Marvel
CSUN Drops First Big West Series as Cal State Fullerton Takes Saturday Doubleheader
4/12/2025 6:52:00 PM | Softball
FULLERTON, Calif -- CSUN Softball fell to the Cal State Fullerton Titans in both games of a doubleheader Saturday afternoon at Anderson Family Field. Tiara Westbrook had a home run and an RBI single and Kaylee Escutia added an RBI in game two. The Matadors fell in game one, 8-0 in five innings via the run-rule, and fell 9-5 in game two. Escutia and Westbrook led the team with two hits each in game two.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
Fullerton began the bottom half of the first with three consecutive singles. Their cleanup hitter, Ava Arce came up to the plate with bases loaded. She promptly singled to left field to score two runs. The next batter, Alexia Lopez, went off the plate attempting a bunt, after she failed to get the bunt down on the first pitch, the lead runner was thrown out at third with an impressive play by Kylie Galindo. After a flyout, Sarah Coccilios singled to center putting the Titans up 3-0 after the first inning.
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It would remain 3-0 till the bottom of the fifth. The first batter of the inning, Colby McClinton doubled down the left field line to get things started. The next batter reached on a walk before Nataly Lozano  doubled in the right field gap to bring home both runners. After Arce reached on an error, Lopez singled to right field, plating a sixth runner. The pinch runner on third scored on a stolen base attempt to make it 7-0 before the game ended with a walk-off run-rule single off the bat of Maggie Paulovich, giving Fullerton an 8-0 win.Â
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GAME TWO
McClinton walked to lead off the bottom of the first, advancing to second on a ground out from the next batter. Lozana then singled into left field but McClinton held on at third. McClinton came home on the next at-bat due to an error by Galindo. Arce then hit a home run over the left field wall, making the score 3-0 FullertonÂlead at the end of one.
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In the top half of the next inning, Jerzie Liana singled to right field to jumpstart the offense. Galindo grounded out to second, but Liana advanced to second on the play. After Sydney Freijanes grounded out, Escutia came up to the plate looking to plate the first runner of the day for the Matadors. She did just that, a single to left field brought the runner home, making it a 3-1 Fullerton lead through one and a half innings.
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In the top of the third, CSUN cut the lead in half. A solo shot off the bat of Westbrook put the Matadors right back into the game. It was Westbrook's seventh home run of the season.
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In the bottom third, the Titans' hit back again. After two consecutive singles and a drag bunt, a sacrifice fly from Sarah Coccillos gave Fullerton a 4-2 lead after three innings.
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In the bottom of the fourth, Fullerton added five more. After a leadoff walk, a sac bunt, and a stolen base, a ground ball scored the run. That RBI from McClinton made it a 5-2 lead. With two outs, the Titans made some more noise. A single and a double scored a sixth run. Isabella Alonso replaced Lauryn Carranco after a hit-by-pitch. Alonso then allowed a double and a single, as Fullerton added three more runs to open up a 9-2 lead through four innings.
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In the top of the fifth, Raegan Jackson singled to get things going. The next batter struck out swinging but Jackson advanced to second on a wild pitch. Vinessa Nunez then reached on a fielding error, making it first and third for Alexis Chavez. Chavez reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, scoring Jackson and making it a 9-3 game through four and a half.
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In the seventh inning, the Matadors threatened again. A single and a walk put two runners on for Westbrook. The sophomore transfer from Oregon State singled to left field and the left fielder made an error on the play, causing both runners to score. Westbrook was credited with one RBI, giving her two on the day.Â
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NEWS AND NOTES
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Overall it's our first loss of a conference series, hats off to Fullerton they did a great job all weekend. But for us, we keep telling our team it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. We need to play better all-around; better defense and better offense. Conference play is tough, we haven't played our best ball. We've got to make sure we peak at the right time and trust the process. We'll come to work and make sure we're prepared for the next series against Cal State Bakersfield."
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UP NEXT
CSUN returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield next weekend. Friday both teams will play a doubleheader with first pitches at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively. Saturday April 19, will be the concluding third game taking place at 1:00 p.m. The doubleheader will be livestreamed on ESPN+.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
GAME ONE
Fullerton began the bottom half of the first with three consecutive singles. Their cleanup hitter, Ava Arce came up to the plate with bases loaded. She promptly singled to left field to score two runs. The next batter, Alexia Lopez, went off the plate attempting a bunt, after she failed to get the bunt down on the first pitch, the lead runner was thrown out at third with an impressive play by Kylie Galindo. After a flyout, Sarah Coccilios singled to center putting the Titans up 3-0 after the first inning.
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It would remain 3-0 till the bottom of the fifth. The first batter of the inning, Colby McClinton doubled down the left field line to get things started. The next batter reached on a walk before Nataly Lozano  doubled in the right field gap to bring home both runners. After Arce reached on an error, Lopez singled to right field, plating a sixth runner. The pinch runner on third scored on a stolen base attempt to make it 7-0 before the game ended with a walk-off run-rule single off the bat of Maggie Paulovich, giving Fullerton an 8-0 win.Â
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GAME TWO
McClinton walked to lead off the bottom of the first, advancing to second on a ground out from the next batter. Lozana then singled into left field but McClinton held on at third. McClinton came home on the next at-bat due to an error by Galindo. Arce then hit a home run over the left field wall, making the score 3-0 FullertonÂ
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In the top half of the next inning, Jerzie Liana singled to right field to jumpstart the offense. Galindo grounded out to second, but Liana advanced to second on the play. After Sydney Freijanes grounded out, Escutia came up to the plate looking to plate the first runner of the day for the Matadors. She did just that, a single to left field brought the runner home, making it a 3-1 Fullerton lead through one and a half innings.
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In the top of the third, CSUN cut the lead in half. A solo shot off the bat of Westbrook put the Matadors right back into the game. It was Westbrook's seventh home run of the season.
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In the bottom third, the Titans' hit back again. After two consecutive singles and a drag bunt, a sacrifice fly from Sarah Coccillos gave Fullerton a 4-2 lead after three innings.
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In the bottom of the fourth, Fullerton added five more. After a leadoff walk, a sac bunt, and a stolen base, a ground ball scored the run. That RBI from McClinton made it a 5-2 lead. With two outs, the Titans made some more noise. A single and a double scored a sixth run. Isabella Alonso replaced Lauryn Carranco after a hit-by-pitch. Alonso then allowed a double and a single, as Fullerton added three more runs to open up a 9-2 lead through four innings.
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In the top of the fifth, Raegan Jackson singled to get things going. The next batter struck out swinging but Jackson advanced to second on a wild pitch. Vinessa Nunez then reached on a fielding error, making it first and third for Alexis Chavez. Chavez reached on a fielding error by the third baseman, scoring Jackson and making it a 9-3 game through four and a half.
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In the seventh inning, the Matadors threatened again. A single and a walk put two runners on for Westbrook. The sophomore transfer from Oregon State singled to left field and the left fielder made an error on the play, causing both runners to score. Westbrook was credited with one RBI, giving her two on the day.Â
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NEWS AND NOTES
- With the two defeats, CSUN falls to 17-21, 10-7 in Big West play on the season.
- With the win, Fullerton is now 27-14, 13-5 in Big West play.
- Westbrook's seventh homer of the year currently leads the team.
- Escutia recorded her sixth RBI of the year.
- Mikayla Carman recorded a hit, a walk, and a run in game two
ACCORDING TO HEAD COACH CHARLOTTE MORGAN
"Overall it's our first loss of a conference series, hats off to Fullerton they did a great job all weekend. But for us, we keep telling our team it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. We need to play better all-around; better defense and better offense. Conference play is tough, we haven't played our best ball. We've got to make sure we peak at the right time and trust the process. We'll come to work and make sure we're prepared for the next series against Cal State Bakersfield."
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UP NEXT
CSUN returns home to face Cal State Bakersfield next weekend. Friday both teams will play a doubleheader with first pitches at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively. Saturday April 19, will be the concluding third game taking place at 1:00 p.m. The doubleheader will be livestreamed on ESPN+.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Garcia, Leanna (12-5)
L: Alonso, Isabella (7-10)
Batting:
SH: Jackson, Raegan 1
Batting:
2B: McClinton, Colby 1 ; Lozano, Nataly 1
RBI: Lozano, Nataly 2 ; Arce, Ava 2 ; Lopez, Alexia 1 ; Coccillos, Sarah 1 ; Paulovich, Maggie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: McClinton, Colby 2 ; Perez, Sarah 2 ; Lozano, Nataly 1 ; Arce, Ava 1 ; Salazar, Abigail 1 ; Lopez, Alexia 1
SB: Arce, Ava 1 ; Salazar, Abigail 1 ; Lopez, Alexia 1 ; Romulo, Kristalyn 1
Game Leaders
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RBI
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AB
1
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AB
2
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RBI
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Players Mentioned
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