Designated hitter Brady Koch hit a two-run inside-the-park home run with
two outs in the seventh inning to lead Loyola Marymount to a 3-2 win over
No. 13 Cal State Fullerton at George Page Stadium Tuesday afternoon.
The Titans, who are 3-7 on the road this season, fell to 6-7 overall.
LMU improved to 5-2. Gabriel Bueno, who pitched two no-hit innings and
notched four of the Lions' 13 strikeouts, picked up the win to improve
to 1-0. Fullerton's Scott Sarver, a former LMU pitcher, suffered the loss
to drop to 1-1.
Koch, the ninth hitter in the Lions' order, was extended new life in his
seventh-inning at bat after Titan first baseman Brett Pill slipped near
the Lions' dugout in pursuit of a foul pop-up. Koch then drilled an offering
from Sarver into center field. Titan center fielder Danny Dorn took a
couple of steps in before retreating, but the ball sailed over his head
and rolled to the wall. A.J. LaMonda scored from first and Koch easily
beat the relay throw home.
Fullerton grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth when Ronnie Prettyman
doubled and scored on Dorn's opposite field RBI-single. The Lions knotted
up the score at 1-1 on LaMonda's RBI-double in the bottom of the inning,
but Fullerton's Sergio Pedroza greeted LMU reliever Jackson Creighton
with a solo homer over the 413-foot sign in center field to lead off the
sixth. But that would be the last hit for the Titans.
Fullerton starter Lauren Gagnier was excellent in his five innings of
work, allowing just a run on two hits and retiring the side in order three
times. The Titans had great opportunities to provide some run support
for Gagnier: they had runners at first and third with no outs in the second
and had runners at second and third with one out in the third, but failed
to score in both innings.
Dorn was 3-for-4 from the plate, Pedroza was 2-for-4 and P.J. Pilittere
extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a fourth-inning single.
Fullerton, which has played its last seven games on the road, returns
home for the Kia Baseball Bash this weekend. The Titans will open against
Oklahoma on Friday at 7 p.m.
