Cal State Fullerton relievers Travis Ingle, Sean Martin and Chad Cordero
combined to hold Long Beach State to just a run on two hits over the final
4.2 innings as the No. 15 Titans beat the 17th-ranked 49ers, 8-7, at Goodwin
Field Sunday afternoon to complete a three-game nonconference sweep.
The Titans, who have won four consecutive games, improved to 16-9 overall
while Long Beach State, which had an eight-game winning streak coming
into the series, fell to 15-9. The Titans had not swept Long Beach since
1998 and had not swept the 49ers at home since 1991.
Martin, who threw 1.1 scoreless innings, picked up the win to improve
to 2-2 and Cordero notched his sixth save. Fullerton battered Long Beach
starter Abe Alvarez (6-1) – who was 6-0 with a 1.24 ERA – for
six runs on 10 hits in just three innings.
Chris Klosterman and Chris Stringfellow each singled in runs in the first
as the Titans took a 2-1 lead. The Titans added another pair in the second,
when Long Beach shortstop Kevin Randel turned Jason Corapci's ground ball
into a fielder's choice, but threw the ball away while trying to complete
a double play.
Fullerton appeared to break the game open in the fourth. Kyle Boyer led
off with a ground-rule double and Shane Costa followed with an RBI triple
– his ninth hit of the series – to chase Alvarez. Reliever Joey
Pace didn't fare much better: he hit a batter, allowed three singles and
notched his only out with a sacrifice fly as the Titans grabbed an 8-2
lead.
But the 49ers chipped away in the fifth, scoring four times off Titan
starter Jordan DeJong, with Todd Jennings' two-run homer to left pulling
the 49ers to within a pair. Nick Orlandos' solo blast an inning later
off Ingle made it a one-run game.
But Martin and Cordero, with an assist from the Titan defense, sealed
the game. The 49ers loaded the bases in the eighth, but shortstop Justin
Smyres made a spectacular play on a hard-hit one-hopper up the middle,
sprinting to second base to record the unnassisted putout for the final
out. Cordero retired the side in order in the ninth.
Cal State Fullerton will open Big West Conference play vs. Cal Poly on
Thursday night at 7 p.m.
