MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014
Volume 95, Issue 7
Team takes on nat’l debt Students compete in nationwide ‘It’s Up to Us’ competition CHRISTINA NGUYEN Daily Titan
at 8-0 after five innings. Washington got her first start and shutout the Broncos over her four innings and struck out three. Senior Leesa Harris went 2-for-2 at the plate and the speedy outfielder earned a triple off a hit down the right-field line. Sophomore Monique Wesley came in to pitch in the fifth and slammed the door shut. Antunez was back in the circle Saturday night against Pittsburgh. She couldn’t fool any Panther bats as she gave up four runs in the first, three of which were earned runs.
Cal State Fullerton’s “It’s Up to Us” team is the first among Cal State University schools to participate in a national competition through February to address the issue of the country’s rising debt. Since the beginning of the semester, miniature flag displays and statistics written in chalk around campus have brought attention to the increasing federal debt, which is currently about $17.3 trillion. The student team, led by economics student Aaron Mendez, is working with the Clinton Global Initiative, formed by former President Bill Clinton to bring awareness to the increasing debt and to formulate methods to bring it down. Janet Perez, a political science student, joined when her involvement with ASI Lobby Corps piqued her interest about the national debt. She said students often dismiss such a large issue as something out of their control and do not realize the debt actually does affect them. The federal debt affects students by potentially raising the cost of tuition and by making it even more challenging to find a job after graduation, she said. Mendez said his main motivation to join the “It’s Up to Us” program was to share the specialized knowledge he has gained while studying economics with other students.
SEE SOFTBALL, 6
SEE DEBT, 2
AMANDA SHARP / Daily Titan The team celebrates a home run hit by Desiree Ybarra giving the Titans a 3-1 lead. Ybarra’s teammates wait at home plate to congratulate her as she rounds the bases.
Softball undefeated The Titans go 5-0 in the Easton Tournament and down No. 2 Oklahoma Missy Taukeiaho batted .615 and hit two home runs TAMEEM SERAJ Daily Titan
While most Titan fans have their attention turned to the baseball team, an impressive showing at the Easton Tournament by the Cal State Fullerton softball team gave baseball a run for king of the diamond at CSUF. The Titan softball team went 5-0 in the season-opening tournament that they hosted and upset No. 2 Oklahoma on Friday night. Their 5-0 record extends the team’s winning ways dating back to last season where they won 12 of their last 15 games. This is also the first time the team has started 5-0 since the 2000 season. Second-year Head Coach Kelly Ford credits a full team effort for their undefeated record in the tournament. “Our pitching has been outstanding. Pitching combined with the offense, timely hitting. The hitting has been contagious,” Ford said. At the plate, the Titans were led by sophomore third baseman and
CSUF newcomer Missy Taukeiaho. The transfer from University of Washington batted .615 in the tournament (8-13) while belting two home runs and driving in eight runs. The Rancho Cucamonga native also scored six runs and drew three walks in the tournament in addition to playing stellar defense at the hot corner. In the circle, three Titan pitchers picked up wins during the tournament, including sophomore Jasmine Antunez (2-0), freshman Christina Washington (2-0) and junior Desiree Ybarra (1-0). The depth of the team at every position allowed Ford to rest some players at the end of games. Getting quick runs was key for the Titans as they scored at least one run in the first inning in four of the five games. Day 1 The Titans opened the tournament and their season Friday afternoon against Loyola Marymount. Antunez, the reigning Big West Conference Freshman Pitcher of the Year, started for the Titans and didn’t allow a run in her three innings of work on her way to her first win of the season. The offense caught fire
early and often, scoring one in the first and then four runs in both the second and third innings off of 12 hits. The Titans mercy ruled the Lions at 9-0 by playing small ball and running the bases well. The highly anticipated nightcap against No. 2 Oklahoma was a different story for Fullerton. Long balls were the theme of this game. Antunez once again got the starting nod and quickly gave up a home run to Sooners second baseman Georgia Casey in the first inning. It looked like it was going to be a long night for the CSUF pitching staff but Antunez settled down and retired the next 10 batters she faced. “I knew it was only the first inning, and so I knew we had a long way to go and I just relied on my defense and offense to help me out,” Antunez said. Taukeiaho leveled the game at one in the second inning with a solo bomb towards the scoreboard over the left field fence. Ybarra followed in the next frame by turning the first pitch she saw into a line drive blast, which crept over the right-center field wall with a runner on to give the Titans a 3-1 lead that they would not relinquish. Antunez struck out eight
WINNIE HUANG / Daily Titan Sophomore Jasmine Antunez hurls a pitch against Pittsburgh.
in her five innings and then handed pitching duties to Ybarra who didn’t allow a hit in the final two innings to complete the upset and record her first save of the year. “I wasn’t shocked with this, this was a fantastic win. Their practice has been intense, productive and it’s been mission driven. To see it all come together today was just magical, they deserve it,” Ford said. Day 2 The Saturday morning game against Santa Clara was reminiscent of the victory over Loyola Marymount for the Titans. The game ended in a mercy
Young entrepreneurs get in the ‘hot seat’ Competitors given just 60 seconds to ‘fast pitch’ a business GINA VAN STRATTEN Daily Titan
With 60 seconds on the timer and a panel of judges staring them down Saturday, competitors in the Titan Fast Pitch Business Competition didn’t have time to let nerves get in the way. The event, hosted by Mihaylo College Center for Entrepreneurship and the Center for Economic Education, was designed to give young entrepreneurs a realistic practice scenario
AMANDA SHARP / Daily Titan Competitors participate in rock-paper-scissors games as part of an ice-breaking exercise Saturday.
that could prepare them for a real-world situation hurriedly pitching an idea to an executive, in an
elevator for instance. About 13 high school students and about 18 university students went
on stage to make their case and share their ideas, which ranged from a website that let women design their own bras to a mobile stem cell kiosk used by doctors to alleviate patients’ arthritis. John Jackson, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Cal State Fullerton, said pitching an idea in 60 seconds is a “learned skill,” and is essential to being a successful entrepreneur. “Regardless of if you work in a big company, if you’re a student, or you’re an entrepreneur, you have to be able to pitch your ideas succinctly and quickly,” Jackson said.
INSIDE ESPORTS IN OC First North American eSports arena to open in Santa Ana, host video game tournaments NEWS 3 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER: @DAILY_TITAN
After the first round of pitches, the audience narrowed the contestants down to three finalists using their website to vote for who should move on to the next round. The audience then picked their favorite pitches for each category, and the top three finalists per category advanced to the “hot seat” round. In the second round, the finalists sat in a large red chair and answered questions from the judges about their mission statement, core values of their business idea and their passion behind the idea. The winner for the high school category was the
“Build-a-Bra” website. Hannah Messa and Andrea Sanchez designed a website where women could create their own unique bra in the comfort of their own home. Customers could choose the bra strap, the color, the size and the cup. Another female entrepreneur won at the university level with a mechanical device designed to clean five makeup brushes at a time. The idea came to her as a solution to constantly having to use new brushes to apply makeup while she was working as a makeup artist. SEE PITCH, 3
STREAMING APP “Hang w/” allows live broadcasting from users’ phones for music, entertainment DETOUR 5 VISIT US AT: DAILYTITAN.COM