Softball Roundup : It’s a Mound of Joy for Titans’ Lefebvre : She Leads Fullerton to PONY Title by Pitching 7 Games in 4 Days

Pitching for the seventh time in four days, Susan Lefebvre didn’t have her best stuff Sunday. What she did have, however, was good enough to help Cal State Fullerton win the PONY invitational softball tournament.

“My arm’s OK. It’s the rest of me that’s tired,” Lefebvre said after the Titans beat Fresno State, 6-0, in a 10-inning championship final at Fullerton.

Lefebvre, a senior right-hander, was the winning pitcher in the Titans’ seven tournament victories, taking the load after Connie Clark injured her back in the second game. In 51 innings of tournament play, Lefebvre allowed only one earned run. That came in the first inning of Sunday’s semifinal game against Northwestern, during which she allowed three hits. She settled down, however, allowing just two hits the rest of the way before the Titans won it in the eighth inning, 2-1.

Lefebvre and Fresno State’s Melanie Parrent were locked in a scoreless duel for nine innings before the international tie-breaker rule went into effect and the Titans got to start the 10th with speedy Chenita Rogers on second base. After an intentional walk, the Bulldogs committed two errors on a grounder by Terri Oberg, allowing one run to score. Another intentional walk was followed by a two-run single by Alani Silva, opening the gates for a six-run inning.

That was all the incentive Lefebvre needed to retire the side in the bottom of the 10th and run the Titans’ record to 27-3.

Lefebvre had 36 strikeouts in 33 innings of the tournament, but recorded only 7 in 18 innings Sunday.

“I was tired, so I had to change the way I was throwing,” she said. “I put a lot of spin on my pitches instead of trying to blow it by everybody.

“Of course, it helps to have a great team behind you.”

In the College of Sequoia Invitational tournament:

Santa Ana College 24, Skyway 0 (5 innings)--Sandy Martinez went 2 for 3 with a home run and three walks, and scored five runs as the Dons (16-2) recorded their fifth straight shutout to win the first-round game. Chris Makimoto went 2 for 5 with three RBIs and three runs scored. Kim Martin (8-0) threw her second no-hitter and third shutout of the week. She struck out 11 Sunday.