Justin Smyres hit a wind-blown home run over the right field fence on
relief pitcher Kevin Miller's first pitch in the top of of the 11th to
spark 15th-ranked Cal State Fulleton to a 6-2 win over UC Santa Barbara
in a Big West Conference game at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium Friday afternoon.
The Titans (25-12 overall, 8-2 in Big West play), have won 13 of their
past 16 games, and climbed to a half-game back of conference leader Long
Beach State, which is playing a nonconference series at Miami this weekend.
UC Santa Barbara fell to 16-22 overall and 3-7 in conference.
Chad Cordero, who pitched the final 3.1 innings, picked up his second
win in as many games to improve to 4-1. Not figuring in the decision were
starters Wes Littleton (Fullerton) and Matt Vasquez (UCSB), though they
pitched masterfully for most of the game. Littleton allowed five hits
and fanned eight – tying a career high – in 7.2 innings.
Vasquez gave up just two runs in 10 innings.
Smyres put the Titans up, 3-2, in the top of the 11th with his homer off
Miller (a junior college teammate at Cuesta College last year), who fell
to 2-3. Chris Stringfellow added a two-run single later in the inning
and David Fischer, who had a career-high four hits, drove in the sixth
run with a single through the left side.
Shane Costa, who was 3-for-4 on the day to extend his hitting streak to
19 games, nearly single-handedly tied the game in the top of the ninth.
He singled through the left side to open the frame and stole second with
one out after Jason Corapci failed to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Costa
could only advance to third on a single to shallow right field by Richie
Burgos, but Vasquez uncorked a wild pitch to score Costa.
Littleton, who came in with the 10th-best ERA in the nation, retired 15
out of 16 batters over one stretch. But things turned sour in a hurry...and
in untypical fashion for the sophomore righthander. Blair Havens singled
to center in the eighth and with two outs, Ryan Spilborghs blasted a two-run
homer – just the third homer allowed by Littleton this year –
to give the Gauchos a 2-1 lead.
The Titans grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third, when Justin Smyres singled
with one out, moved to second on Costa' second hit of the day and scored
all the way from second on a fielder's choice grounder off the bat of
Corapci. Smyres motored home when second baseman Chris Malec's throw pulled
first baseman Josh McCanne off the bag. No error was charged since the
throw came after a putout had already been recorded at second base.
The Titans and Gauchos will meet for the second game of the three-game
set on Saturday at 1 p.m.
