Six different Titans had multiple hits and
four pitchers combined on a three-hitter as No. 3 Cal State Fullerton
defeated host Loyola Marymount, 10-2, on Tuesday afternoon at Page Stadium
in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Titans improved to 5-1 overall in winning their third straight contest.
The Lions fell to 1-3 overall.
Junior Sergio Pedroza paced Fullerton's 16-hit attack, going 3-for-4 on
the day with two RBI and a pair of doubles. Five others had two hits,
including junior Danny Dorn and sophomore Brett Pill, who each added home
runs on the afternoon.
Fullerton jumped out to the quick 1-0 lead as Pedroza's first double of
the game plated Justin Turner for the run. LMU struck back quickly, as
James Cooper singled through the right side and came home when Evan Shahak
followed with his first career home run to left to give the Lions the
2-1 lead.
That advantage was short-lived as the Titans tied it in the third when
the LMU second baseman dropped the ball trying to turn a double play with
runners at the corners, allowing Turner to score.
Then, with two on, Dorn slugged his first home run of the season to break
the tie and give Fullerton the 5-2 lead.
That opened the floodgates for the offense as the Titans got an RBI double
from Pedroza in the fourth and a bases-loaded triple from Blake Davis
in the fifth to break things wide-open. Pill smacked his second home run
of the year in the sixth to cap the scoring.
Senior Scott Sarver (1-1) earned the victory for Fullerton, going four
innings, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out a pair. Adam
Jorgenson, Lauren Gagnier, and Vinnie Pestano then came out of the bullpen
and shut things down, throwing five combined innings of no-hit baseball,
striking out one batter each.
Blake Feaser suffered the loss for the Lions, allowing five runs on eight
hits in 2 1/3 innings. Sean Dovel had the other hit on the day for LMU.
Cal State Fullerton returns to action this weekend with a three-game series
against local rival USC. The Titans and Trojans open with a single game
at Dedeaux Field on Friday night at 6 p.m. before heading to Goodwin Field
for Saturday (6 p.m.) and Sunday's (1 p.m.) contests.
