Local player honored for play at Cal State Fullerton

FULLERTON, CA - Cal State Fullerton sophomore Sheila Holguin and freshman Christine Hiner gave the Titans a sweep of the Big West Conference's weekly softball honors, earning the league's player and pitcher of the week awards as determined by the conference office on Monday morning.

The laurels are the first in both player's collegiate careers and Holguin becomes the second Fullerton player to be honored this season, joining teammate Jenna Wheeler, who earned the first award of the season on Feb. 11.

Holguin (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga HS) was a powerful cog in the Titans' offensive wheel at the top of the lineup at last week's Judi Garman Classic, leading the entire tournament in batting (.692), slugging (1.077), on-base percentage (.692), and triples (2) while also tying for the tournament lead in hits (9) and finishing tied for second in total bases (14).

Hitting just .247 entering the tournament, Holguin raised her average almost 60 points to .306 to rank second on the team. She had her two best games against ranked opposition, going 3-for-4 against No. 19 Fresno State with a double, a run scored, and an RBI while finishing 3-for-3 against No. 7 Arizona, including driving home the winning run with a triple and scoring what would eventually be the decisive run later in the third inning.

Hiner (Garden Grove, Calif./Pacifica HS), who hadn't pitched since March 15 against Utah, snapped a four-start losing streak in the circle in impressive fashion, holding a powerful Arizona offense to just three hits and a .120 batting average in a 2-1 win over the Wildcats.

She struck out six without a walk in the complete-game effort, stranding three runners on base for the game - two of those in scoring position.

With the bulk of the non-conference schedule behind them, Cal State Fullerton begins the race for the 2008 Big West Conference title this weekend on the road as the Titans head to San Luis Obispo to take on defending champion Cal Poly in a three-game series.