Cal State Fullerton softball walks off California Baptist to stay alive in NCAA regional

LOS ANGELES — Cal State Fullerton softball isn’t out of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional quite yet.

Ava Arce kept her team alive with a walk-off single that sent Colby McClinton sliding head-first across home plate in the bottom of the seventh inning to secure a final run that vaulted the Titans to a 3-2 win over California Baptist.

Cal State Fullerton moves on to play in Saturday night’s 8 p.m. elimination game against South Carolina, which lost to No. 8 national seed UCLA earlier in the day. Because of the proximity to game time, the Titans did not speak with media after beating CBU.

California Baptist (43-19), the Western Athletic Conference champion, was making its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance under first-year CBU coach Brandon Telesco.

The Lancers gave UCLA all it could handle on Friday night, putting up 10 runs in one inning. The Bruins came back late in the game, however, for a 12-11 win that sent them into a win-or-go-home game with Cal State Fullerton (41-14).

“This season has just been absolutely unbelievable,” CBU senior Ashlee Annett said. “This is a whole new staff. We call our team ‘version one.’ This was a whole new team, and it was by far my favorite year, and I just hope that the girls next year — I just hope they have as much fun as I did and continue to represent CBU this way.”

Big West Champion Cal State Fullerton got to work in the bottom of the first inning with Alexia Lopez’s RBI double to right field, but the Titans’ 1-0 lead didn’t last long.

CBU’s Sydney Peterson stepped up in the top of the second for a two-run homer off the left field wall that scored Victoria Macias, who had reached first base on a fielder’s choice.

The Titans left runners on second and third in the bottom of the third inning and finally broke through to score a run in the bottom of the fifth. McClinton and Lopez both singled, then Arce singled to right field to score McClinton and tie the game at 2-2.

The infield came up with a clutch double play to hold CBU off in the top of the sixth inning. Makayla Medellin reached base on a walk and Annett hit a ground ball that second baseman McClinton snagged to get Medellin out at second.

McClinton threw to Arce at first base to keep Annett off base to complete the double play and keep the score tied.

Both teams went three up, three down in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh. The bottom of the final frame got off to a rocky start when Sarah Perez was tagged out at third while going for a triple.

McClinton, who was next up to bat, maintained composure and was walked. Lopez moved her over after an HBP before Arce ended the game.

California Baptist and Cal State Fullerton have plenty of rematches ahead of them, since the Lancers will be competing in the Big West Conference next season.

“I walked into CBU and said we’re going to win the WAC,” Telesco said. “And we did that, and so that was step one. We laid the foundation. Now, we put the expectation. The expectation is to be here every year, and to win it. We’ll be waiting for Fullerton next year, just to promise you that.”

NCAA Los Angeles Regional

Who: Cal State Fullerton vs. South Carolina

When: Saturday, 8 p.m.

Where: Easton Stadium

TV: ESPN2