Cordero Ties Save Mark as Titans Beat Irvine May 10, 2003 – Fullerton, Calif.
Box Score
Jason Windsor allowed just two unearned runs
in seven innings and Chad Cordero tied the all-time Cal State Fullerton
saves record as the fourth-ranked Titans beat UC Irvine, 6-4, in a Big
West Conference game at Goodwin Field Saturday night.
The Titans improved to 40-12 overall and 12-5 in Big West play and snapped
a four-game conference losing skid with the win. Fullerton has reached
the 40-win mark for the 19th time in 29 Division I seasons. The Anteaters
fell to 20-31 and 8-9. Fullerton remained two games back of Long Beach
State, which beat UC Riverside Saturday.
Windsor scattered six hits in seven innings and did not allow an earned
run. He improved to 8-2 and lowered his ERA to 1.98. Cordero notched his
sixth save of the season and 32nd of his career to tie him for the 19-year-old
all-time record also held by Scott Wright (1981-84). Irvine's Glenn Swanson
fell to 2-8.
The Titans never trailed after putting up three runs in the bottom of
the first. Shane Costa, Kyle Boyer and RIchie Burgos had consecutive singles
to account for the first run. P.J. Pilittere's safety-squeeze bunt scored
Boyer and Kurt Suzuki followed with a single to center to make it 3-0.
The Anteaters scored a pair of unearned runs in the fifth on Justin Smyres'
third error of the series, but Irvine's defense made a costly error of
its own in the seventh. Right fielder Gary Dudrey misplayed Smyres' fly
ball into a three-base error, with a pair of runs scoring on the play.
Smyres later came around to score on Justin Turner's infield single to
give Fullerton a 6-2 lead.
Irvine's Gregg Wallis doubled in a pair of runs in the eighth to narrow
the Titans' lead to two runs, but Cordero earned the final out in the
eighth and struck out three in the ninth.
Suzuki went 2-for-4 with an RBI and run to pace Fullerton, which had just
six hits as a team. Brett Dalton had three hits for Irvine.
Fullerton and Irvine will play the rubber game of the three-game series
on Sunday at 1 p.m.
