THE COMMUNITY COLLEGES : State Softball Championships : Fullerton Wins Twice to Reach Semifinals

Fullerton College’s softball team put itself into a good position Friday to make a run at the state title.

The Hornets defeated Foothill, 2-1, in the opening game and Cypress, 2-0, in the second round of the state tournament at Golden West College.

Fullerton plays in the semifinals at 6 tonight against Palomar, which defeated Moorpark, 1-0, in 13 innings in the second round Friday night.

It was Fullerton’s fourth victory this season over Cypress (35-13), also an Orange Empire Conference member. But it took the strong arm of sophomore pitcher Kristin Jacobs to get the victories for Fullerton (37-10).

Jacobs, who sometimes screams as she releases a pitch, got the Hornets through 14 innings Friday, in which she gave up one run on six hits. She had 14 strikeouts (six in the first game and eight in the second).

“I don’t think of it as my arm (that does the work),” Jacobs said. “It’s all of me. My whole body has to be strong. I try to put as much as I’ve got into it.”

Thus, the scream, which evokes its share of taunts and jeers from the opposition.

Said Jacobs: “They can say what they want, I won’t stop (it) I don’t know if I could not do it. I guess my lungs are used to it.”

Fullerton Coach Margo Davis, who’s retiring after 17 years, is used to all the noises.

“We’re so used to it we don’t notice it like the other teams who haven’t heard it before,” she said.

“But I’ve been around long enough to know you go with your best pitcher in the tournament.”

Going with Jacobs, who was picked as the state pitcher of the year this season, proved to be the right choice Friday, but without the clutch hitting of sophomore Kelli Johnson in the bottom of the sixth, Jacobs’ performance would have been wasted.

“I feel we’re a better-hitting team than we’re showing,” Davis said after the Hornets’ offense managed just five hits against Cypress.

Cypress pitcher Sally Dugas held the Hornets to just two hits through five innings before Johnson teamed up with sophomores Debbie Wagner, the Hornets’ leading hitter, and Kelly Hilliard to produce the game-winning runs.

With two outs, Wagner, from Mater Dei, blooped a single to center and Hilliard, from Buena Park, then tapped a chopper inches in front of the plate. No play was attempted on the chopper, putting runners at first and third.

Johnson, from Katella, singled home both runners but was thrown out trying to reach second base.