SOFTBALL: THE HUNT FOR AN ORANGE EMPIRE TITLE

The FC softball team hosted Cypress College for a conference doubleheader on Friday and split with the Chargers 2-5 and 7-4.

Three teams are deep in the hunt for the Orange Empire Conference title with Fullerton leading in the standings at 16-4. Santa Ana is right in there at 11-4, while Cypress is close behind at 11-5. The Hornets held strong taking Santa Ana down three out of four games last month, and then split with Cypress 2-2 in this past week's four-game series. The next two weeks will determine who the true champion will be with only a few games left on the schedule.

GAME ONE

Madison Pevehouse made an early statement in the first inning crushing a double to right center that scored three baserunners in Madison Ferguson, Miranda Rooney, and Natalie Gonzalez.

The Chargers came up in the fourth inning scoring two unearned runs on Hornet errors. Emily Adkison reached first on a fielding error scoring Alyssa Huerta, and Camryn Addimando knocked a double to left field that brought Natalie Rodriguez home.

FC added to their 3-2 lead in the fourth scoring the game's final two runs. Jocelyn Alcala hit a hard single down the left line scoring Jessica Lopez and Rooney hit a single to right field that plated Dee Ramirez.

Jessica Lopez (10-1) tossed a complete game earning her tenth win on the season. She had no earned runs against with a walk and 2 K's. Lopez also chipped in at the plate with 3 hits. 

GAME TWO

Cypress got the jump on Fullerton in the second game of the day scoring a run in the second and third innings. In the second, Addimando hit a single to center field, and a fielding error allowed Paige Shafer to round third and come home. In the third, Adkison popped a single to right scoring Shafer.

Down 2-0 heading into the third, the Hornets answered the call by taking a 3-2 lead. Ferguson reached first on a Charger fielding error that gave Gonzalez the chance to score, and Dee Ramirez doubled to left center scoring Maya Osegura and Ferguson.

Cypress broke the game open in the fourth inning scoring five runs that put them up 7-3. The Hornets did their best to come back from the harsh deficit, however they were only able to muster one run in the bottom of the seventh, a double by Rooney that scored Ferguson.

Despite taking her second loss, Jessica Lopez tossed a solid complete game with 4 earned runs on 10 hits with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

At the dish, Casey Dufrene and Miranda Rooney both had a 2-hit game. 

Up Next: Fullerton (16-4 overall, 16-4 OEC) heads to Mount San Antonio College for a non-conference game on Wednesday, May 19th. The first pitch goes out at 6:00 pm.