Fullerton Gets Drop on Matadors

FULLERTON —  Four hours and about 46 minutes.

That’s how long it took Cal State Northridge to drop from first place to third in Big West Conference play Friday night.

The Matadors didn’t exactly give the lead away. Fullerton simply shoved them aside like a rag doll with an impressive hitting attack that included 22 hits in 12 innings.

The Titans pulled into a first-place tie with Cal State Long Beach by sweeping the Matadors, 6-2 and 2-1, in a Big West doubleheader at Fullerton.

Long Beach swept Utah State on Friday. Fullerton and Northridge conclude their series today at 2.

It’s a conference race that makes little sense.

Fullerton (36-11, 11-3 in conference play) sweeps Northridge (23-20-1, 13-4), which last week took two of three from Long Beach State (33-15-1, 11-3), which swept Fullerton in a three-game series three weeks ago.

Go figure.

In the first game, Northridge had trouble figuring out Jodie Cox of Fullerton, who allowed one hit through the first six innings.

Cox, The Times’ Valley player of the year for the last two years, surrendered an infield single to Jill Passafiume in the first inning and then got stingy.

Cox (14-3), a left-handed freshman out of Quartz Hill High, pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and then retired 13 batters in order from the second through six innings.

“I was glad to get out of that first inning and then get past the second because sometimes those innings have a way of carrying over into another,” said Cox, who allowed three hits and struck out five.

Offensive support came in droves for Cox, who herself went three for four with a run-scoring single in the third inning.

“As a pitcher [offensive support] brings your confidence way up,” Cox said.

The Titans pounded Sarah Farnworth (15-15) for 13 hits, including three doubles and a home run. The score could have been much worse; Fullerton left nine runners, including five in scoring position.

Jessica Maloney’s two-run single in the fifth gave Fullerton a 4-0 lead and a two-run home run by Brenda Iglesias in the sixth made it 6-0.

Northridge scored in the seventh on a pinch double by Summer Richardson and a ground out by Chastity Johnson.

Fullerton, hitting a conference-high .317, continued the hit parade in the second game, but had minimal runs to show for the effort.

Richardson (7-4) allowed nine hits but was only hurt by Gina Oaks’ two-run home run in the second.

Northridge closed to within a run when pinch runner Meaghan Finnerty scored on a wild pitch in the fifth.

But with one out and runners at second and third, the Matadors couldn’t cash in. An pop up and a comebacker to the pitcher and the inning was over.

Oaks relieved Christy Robitaille (11-6) in the fifth, retired the final six batters and picked up her second save.

Ui Bal had two of Northridge’s four hits in the second game.