Titans Take Advantage of Miscues to Beat UCSB

FULLERTON —  Cal State Fullerton, held without an extra-base hit for the first time in a game this season, beat UC Santa Barbara, 9-4, in a Big West Conference baseball game Sunday at Fullerton.

The Titans took advantage of eight walks, four of which scored, and a hit batter, who also scored.

Fullerton (26-6, 5-1 in conference), the top-ranked team in the nation, was coming off a 4-2 loss to Santa Barbara in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday. The Titans won the first game, 11-0.

“To be consistent you need to be opportunistic,” Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said. “I was most pleased with that today.”

Fullerton’s Matt Wagner, who has taken over the role of third starter, gave up five hits and three runs in 7 2/3 innings to improve to 7-0.

Wagner, a sophomore right-hander, left with two outs and two on in the eighth and leading, 7-1. Reliever Derek Fahs gave up a three-run home run to Matt Bazzani, his eighth of the season. Fahs walked the next batter and was lifted in favor of Ted Silva. Silva gave up a single but struck out pinch-hitter John Minton to end the threat.

Silva pitched around a leadoff double in the ninth for his eighth save. He had seven saves as a freshman last season.

The Titans got RBI singles from Brian King and Jack Jones and Jeff Ferguson had a sacrifice fly to take a 3-0 lead in third. Jeremy Giambi had an RBI single and Fullerton also scored on an error and a fielder’s choice to take a 6-0 lead in the fifth.

Giambi added an RBI single in the seventh. The final two runs in the eighth came on a sacrifice fly by King and an error in the eighth.

Fullerton next travels to Long Beach State for a three-game series starting at 7 p.m. Friday at Blair Field.