|
|
|
|
|
|
Smith,
Rifkin Pace Titans to 3-1 Win Over Cal Poly Mar. 16, 2001 – Fullerton, Calif. Jon Smith improved to 5-0 on the season and Aaron Rifkin hit a two-run home run as the 24th-ranked Cal State Fullerton baseball team beat Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo), 3-1, in a nonconference game at Goodwin Field Friday night. The Titans, who won their season-high fourth straight game and sixth in their last seven, improved to 12-8 while Cal Poly had its eight-game winning streak snapped and fell to 16-6. The Titans are 24-2 all-time against Cal Poly. Smith remained perfect on the year and improved to 23-4 in his four-year Titan career with seven strong innings. He scattered six hits, walked two and struck out eight. Chad Cordero took over for Smith in the eighth and struck out the side and Kirk Saarloos matched the feat in the ninth while earning his third save. Cal Poly’s Brian Haskell (2-1) pitched his first complete game, allowing just six hits, but suffered his first loss of the season. The Titans scored all three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Robert Guzman hit a one-out double to right field and scored on Jason Corapci’s double down the left field line. After David Bacani flied out to right field for the second out, Aaron Rifkin cleared the right field wall for his fourth home run of the season. Cal Poly’s Jason Barringer hit the first pitch he saw from Smith in the top of the fourth over the left field wall for the Mustangs’ lone run. The Mustangs had the tying runs on second and third in the top of the fifth, but Titan third baseman Shawn Norris made a leaping catch of Bryant Gant’s line drive for the second out of the inning and Barringer flied out to right for the final out. Cal Poly had just one runner reach second base the rest of the game as the Titan pitchers recorded 10 of their 14 strikeouts over the last four innings. Rifkin and Corapci each went 2-for-4 to pace the Titans. Kevin Tillman was 2-for-3 for Cal Poly. Fullerton will host Cal Poly for the second game of the three-game set on Saturday at 1 p.m. Box score
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
