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Cal State Fullerton pulled out two walk-off victories on Saturday to send the University of Hawaii softball team home empty-handed for a second straight road trip.
Cal State Fullerton center fielder Ariana Williams’ two-run triple with two out in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the Titans a 4-3 win in the first game of Saturday’s Big West doubleheader at Anderson Family Field in Fullerton, Calif.
Williams went 0-for-3 in the finale but threw a runner out at the plate to end the top of the seventh. The Titans then strung together four singles in the bottom of the inning, with pinch hitter Mikaela Francis driving in the winning run in a 1-0 victory.
The series sweep pushed Cal State Fullerton (26-19, 9-3 Big West) into first place in the Big West standings, a half-game ahead of Long Beach State.
UH (25-18, 4-8) fell five games behind the Titans with nine games left in the regular season. The Wahine are 0-6 on the road in conference play, with three losses decided in the opponent’s final at-bat.
Nicole Lopez gave UH the lead in the first game with her league-best 12th home run of the season. But Cal State Fullerton answered with back-to-back homers by Williams and Alexis Gonzalez in the bottom of the fourth.
UH tied the game in the fifth on Sarah Muzik’s two-out single, and Heather Morales’ single in the seventh scored Muzik to give UH a 3-2 lead.
Williams came up with two on and two out in the bottom of the seventh and sent a drive to right field. The ball popped out of UH right fielder Ulu Matagiese’s glove as she hit the wall as the tying and winning runs crossed the plate.
The rally gave Kelsey Kessler the win with one out of relief and she went the distance in the finale for her second shutout of the series.
UH returns to Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium to host UC Santa Barbara in a three-game series starting Friday.
At Fullerton, Calif.
>> Hawaii (25-17, 4-7) 000 110 1 — 3 9 0
>> Cal State Fullerton (25-19, 8-3) 000 200 2 — 4 9 0
2 out when winning run scored
Kanani Aina Cabrales, Dana Thomsen (4) and Heather Cameron. Cerissa Rivera, Sydney Golden (5), Kelsey Kessler (7) and Kylie Padilla. W—Kessler. L—Thomsen.
Leading hitters—Hawaii: Sarah Muzik, 2-4, RBI; Nicole Lopez, 2-4, 2B, HR; Heather Morales, RBI; Angelique Ramos, 2-4. Cal State Fullerton: Samantha Vandiver 2-4; Ariana Williams, 2-3, 3B, HR, 3 RBIs; Lexi Gonzalez, HR.
>> Hawaii (25-18, 4-8) 000 000 0 — 0 5 1
>> Cal State Fullerton (26-19, 9-3) 000 000 1 — 1 8 2
1 out when winning run scored
Brittany Hitchcock and Callee Heen. Kelsey Kessler and Kylie Padilla. W—Kessler. L—Hitchcock.
Leading hitters—Cal State Fullerton: Mikaela Francis, GW RBI.
SATURDAY
UC Riverside 9, UC Davis 8
UC Riverside 5, UC Davis 0
Cal State Northridge 4, Cal Poly 3
Cal Poly 2, Cal State Northridge 0
Long Beach State 4, UC Santa Barbara 1
UC Santa Barbara 5, Long Beach State 2
Cal State Fullerton 4, Hawaii 3
Cal State Fullerton 1, Hawaii 0
TODAY
UC Davis at UC Riverside, 10 a.m.
Cal Poly at Cal State Northridge, 10 a.m.
UC Santa Barbara at Long Beach State, 10 a.m.
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