• Myka Sutherlin fired another 13.1 innings of shutout softball as first-place Cal State Fullerton swept Hawai’i at home, for a league-best seventh Big West Pitcher of the Week award this year, 10th career, and record fifth in succession.
• Sutherlin (19-7) first twirled a one-hit shutout in Friday’s 1-0 decision. The fifth-year senior right-hander allowed just one walk to the initial batter and a two-out double to Haley Johnson in that same frame before getting Izabella Martinez swinging and retiring 19 of the final 20 (last 10 in a row) apart from an error in the fourth. The second-year Pacific transfer struck out the side in order in the second for four straight, three more in the fourth around the miscue, and finished with 13 strikeouts.
• Sutherlin threw 6.1 more scoreless innings in Saturday’s 3-0 victory, surrendering four singles with zero walks and seven punch-outs in a final outing at Anderson Family Field.
• The Titan ace has thrown 15 complete games in 2023, with nine shutouts. Sutherlin has a league-best 16 strikeouts this year and 370 at Fullerton, reaching double digits nine times with a high of 14 twice.
• The Titans (33-16, 20-4 Big West) are winners of a season-high 14 straight and hold a two-game lead over Long Beach State heading into the two teams’ series in Long Beach to round out the regular season. Friday night’s opener will air live on ESPNU at 7 p.m., with Fullerton needing a single win to repeat as The Big West champion.
• This is the first instance of a Big West softball student-athlete earning five consecutive weekly honors. Former LBSU standout Meredith Cervenka grabbed at least a share of the last four pitcher awards of 2003.
• Sutherlin is one off of matching former LBSU ace Brooke Turner’s single-season record of eight Big West Pitcher of the Week awards from 2008. The Gilbert, Ariz., product had three selections a season ago.