FULLERTON, Calif. - Shawna Robinson singled home Jodie Cox in the bottom of the fourth to break a 2-2 tie and propel the 11th-ranked Cal State Fullerton softball team to a 4-2 Big West Conference victory over Sacramento State Sunday afternoon at the Titan Softball Complex.The Titans, who won their 11th-consecutive game and completed a three-game sweep of the Hornets, improved to 20-9 overall and 3-0 in the Big West. The Hornets fell to 8-12 overall and 0-3 in the conference.
Robinson finished the day 2-for-3 with a run and the game-winning RBI, joining Cox, Gina Oaks and Jenny Topping as Titans with two hits on the day. The Hornets were paced by freshman catcher Erin Coyne, who finished 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Christy Robitaille (4-3) picked up the win for Cal State Fullerton, allowing two runs and eight hits in seven inning of work. Junior Jillian Bivert (3-8) suffered her second loss of the series, allowing four runs (three earned) and nine hits in six innings.
Sacramento State got on the board in the first inning after Coyne's RBI-double scored Cathy Coupar for a 1-0 lead. Cal State Fullerton answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Lucatero and Cox.
The Hornets tied the game in the second on a sacrifice fly by Coupar that scored Lori Meixner. Robitaille set down the side in order in the fourth and the sixth innings, and got help from her defense as the Titans turned double plays in the fifth and seventh innings. Sacramento State left five runners on base during the first three innings (three in scoring position) before Robitaille settled down.
After Robinson's RBI-single in the fourth put the Titans up, 3-2, Cal State Fullerton added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI-double by Oaks to complete the scoring.
All but two Hornets starters collected at least one hit, including freshman Michelle Bariao's first hit of the season in the second inning. Bariao and Coupar each stole their fourth stolen bases of the season as well.
Sacramento State is now 0-9 against Cal State Fullerton over the last three years.
The Hornets return to the diamond next week for one of their busiest stretches of the season. Sacramento State welcomes Virginia for a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 12 (1 p.m.), before hosting the 10th-annual Capital Classic March 14-17 at the Sacramento Softball Complex.
