FULLERTON, Calif. — The Highlanders continued Big West play Thursday night with a doubleheader against the Cal State Fullerton Titans at Anderson Family Field.
GAME ONE: Cal State Fullerton 5, UC Riverside 1
UC Riverside came up short in the opening game of Thursday's doubleheader, 5-1, to Cal State Fullerton.
The Highlanders were limited to three hits, with Eta Lauti, Arianna Saldivar and Isabel McElroy each recording one. Lauti doubled to lead off the seventh and later scored on a sacrifice fly from Kayla Penor for UC Riverside's lone run.
Cal State Fullerton broke through in the third inning with a pair of RBI doubles to take a 2-0 lead. The Titans added two more in the fifth and another in the sixth to extend the advantage.
GAME TWO: Cal State Fullerton 7, UC Riverside 0
In the second game, UC Riverside was held to two hits in a 7-0 setback.
Eta Lauti and Jackie Alday accounted for the Highlanders' two hits, with Alday doubling down the left-field line in the second inning and Lauti singling in the first. UC Riverside's best early scoring chance came in the second, when Alday doubled and moved to third on a groundout, but the Titans worked out of the inning.
Cal State Fullerton scored once in the first and again in the second before breaking the game open with a four-run fifth inning.
Lauti finished 1 for 3, while Alday also went 1 for 3 with a double. Emory Cheng (5-9) took the loss after allowing seven runs, six earned, over 4.2 innings. Lauren Mendez tossed the final 1.1 innings in relief.
The Highlanders close the series against the Titans on Friday, April 9, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.
