Highlanders Take Series with 4-3 Win May 3, 2003 – Riverside, Calif.
Box Score
AJ Shappi picked up his 10th win of the season and Chad Decker notched
his first save as UC Riverside clinched a Big West Conference series win
over top-ranked Cal State Fullerton with a 4-3 win at the Riverside Sports
Complex Saturday night.
The Titans, who have dropped back-to-back games for the first time this
season and lost just their second series, fell to 38-10 overall and 11-3
in Big West action. UC Riverside improved to 35-12 and 10-4. Fullerton
and Long Beach State are tied for first in the conference and the Highlanders
are just a game back.
The Titans stranded 11 more baserunners Saturday night, bringing their
two-game series total to 23. Trailing by just a run, Fullerton left the
bases loaded in the seventh and then left Shane Costa at second base in
the ninth after he legged out an aggressive double with one out.
Shappi allowed three runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings, but it was enough
for him to improve to 10-1. Titan starter Jason Windsor fell to 7-2. Titan
reliever Chad Cordero pitched a pair of scoreless innings to extend his
consecutice scoreless innings streak to 19.2.
The Highlanders, who have not trailed in the series, grabbed a 1-0 lead
when their first batter of the game – Brian Wahlbrink – drilled
Windsor's 2-2 pitch over the left field fence. Riverside struck again
in the second on back-to-back two-out doubles by Matt Cunningham and Brian
Emmons. Cunningham was again a factor in the fourth, when he tripled past
right fielder David Fischer and scored on Windsor's wild pitch to give
UCR a 3-0 lead.
The Titans finally got to Shappi in the sixth when Richie Burgos blooped
a single to shallow left field to score Costa, but the Highlanders answered
right back with an RBI-single by Wahlbrink in the bottom of the inning.
Fullerton closed the gap to one run in the seventh on Ronnie Prettyman's
sac fly and Kyle Boyer's two-out, two-strike RBI-single, but Joe Turgeon
struck out with the bases loaded.
Costa extended his hiting streak to 11 games with a 3-for-4 night and
Justin Turner and Boyer each had two hits. Five different Riverside players
had a pair of hits.
Fullerton will try to avert a three-game sweep on Sunday, when the two
teams wrap up the series at 1 p.m.
