Mark Jecmen allowed a run on just three hits in five innings to lead sixth-ranked
Stanford to a 4-1 win over No. 4 Cal State Fullerton at Sunken Diamond
Sunday afternoon.
With the win, the Cardinal (3-0) completed their first three-game sweep
of the Titans (0-3) since 2000 and handed Fullerton just its fifth sweep
in Coach George Horton's eight-year tenure. Stanford, which has won five
in a row over Fullerton, also avenged the Titans' three-game sweep at
Goodwin Field to open the 2003 season.
Jecmen (1-0), a Diamond Bar resident who was a high school teammate of
Titans Dustin Miller, Felipe Garcia and Danny Dorn, earned his second
career win. He allowed a second-inning run on Bobby Andrews' sac fly,
but was put in position to earn the win when Stanford rallied for a 2-1
win just before his departure.
Stanford tied the game,1-1, when Jed Lowrie belted a two-out solo homer
to right field in the fourth and grabbed a 2-1 lead on Adam Sorgi's two-out
RBI-double in the fith.
That made a loser of Titan freshman Lauren Gagnier (0-1), who made his
collegiate debut not far from his home of Santa Cruz. Gagnier (5.0 innings,
seven hits, four runs) pitched better than his numbers indicated. He retired
13 of the first 16 batters he faced and left the game trailing only by
a run.
But Lowrie struck again for Stanford, greeting Titan reliever Mike Martinez
with a two-run double in the sixth to give the Cardinal its three-run
cushion.
Fullerton outhit Stanford in each of the first two games of the series,
but managed just four on Sunday with P.J. Pilittere and Brett Pill each
collecting a pair. Pill's hard single to left field with two outs in the
ninth was the Titans' first since the third inning.
Pill, a redshirt freshman from Covina, was the Titans' bright spot on
the weekend, collecting seven hits in 12 at bats for a team-high .583
average.
Fullerton welcomes UNLV for its home-opening series this weekend. The
first game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday.
