LONG BEACH — As it so often does, the chase for the Big West Conference softball title has come down to a season-ending series between rivals Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.

And LBSU pitcher Shannon Haddad made sure the race will go down to the final day for the third year in a row, keeping her team’s championship hopes alive with a complete game three-hitter in a 3-2 victory on Friday night.

Long Beach (29-21 overall, 19-6 Big West) needs to sweep the three-game series against the Titans (33-17, 20-5) to win the title and the hosts snapped the Titans’ 14-game winning streak in the opener in front of a national television audience on ESPNU.

After Haddad worked a quick top of the first inning, LBSU scored a pair of runs against Fullerton pitcher Myka Sutherlin in the bottom of the frame. Sara Olson doubled, Jacquelyn Bickar followed with a bunt single, then Makayla Medellin delivered a third straight hit to drive in the first run. After a strikeout, Lilyanna Martinez added an RBI single for a 2-0 lead.

Sutherlin (19-8) found her groove after that, striking out six total and holding Long Beach scoreless over the next four innings.

Fullerton’s Hannah Becerra drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth and came around to score with the help of a pair of Long Beach errors.

Long Beach threatened to score in the fifth inning after a leadoff double by Bickar. She advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt, but the next batter hit a grounder to shortstop Peyton Toto and she threw a dart to catcher Jessi Alcala for a run-saving out at the plate.

LBSU added what proved to be a critical insurance run in the sixth. Senior Cam Cecil singled with one out, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a pinch-hit single from Sinclair Lawhorn for a 3-1 lead.

Haddad (12-9) had held Fullerton to two hits through six innings, but Sophia Guevara delivered a pinch-hit solo home run – her first career homer – in the seventh. Haddad recovered and induced a pair of groundouts to close out the win.

The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday with the first game scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. Fullerton still needs just one win to wrap up the title, but a Long Beach win in the opener would force a winner-take-all season finale for the conference title and the automatic NCAA postseason berth that comes with it.

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