Titans Win, Clinch Share of Title

Cal State Fullerton clinched a share of the Big West Conference baseball title Friday night, and the Titans did it decisively in the opener of a three-game series against Long Beach State.

The fourth-ranked Titans (40-14, 13-3) battered the 49ers, 16-6, in front of 1,896 at Goodwin Field. The victory was Fullerton’s 26th in its last 30 games.

It was the most lopsided outcome in the series since Fullerton won, 22-9, in 1992.

The victory gave Fullerton a two-game lead over UC Santa Barbara with two games to play. The Gauchos lost the first game of their three-game series to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 5-3, Friday. The loss dropped Long Beach State (34-20, 10-6) out of contention.

The Titans had 14 hits in 17 at-bats during one stretch of the game and finished with 25 hits. It was the most hits and most runs given up by Long Beach this season.

Fullerton scored six runs in the sixth to take a 11-5 lead. The Titans chased Long Beach starter Nate Beucler (3-1), then got five consecutive hits off reliever Chad Bentz.

Shane Costa, who led off with a double, had two hits in the inning. Robert Guzman and Aaron Rifkin each had RBI doubles in the inning and Brett Kay, Chris Stringfellow and Costa had run-scoring singles.

The Titans added five runs in the seventh, highlighted by a three-run homer by shortstop Mike Rouse, who had four RBIs in the game.

It was the eighth homer of the season for Rouse, who was three for five. Costa, Guzman and Jason Corapci each were four for five.

Reliever Mike Nunez (2-0) picked up the victory, and closer Chad Cordero came on to hold the 49ers without a hit in 1 2/3 innings.

“We’ve been on the other side of those games as well,” Titan Coach George Horton said. “We know when we come out tomorrow the scoreboard will say 0-0 and we’ll have to get after it again.”

The tone of the game was set early when each team scored twice in the first inning.

Shortstop Bobby Crosby drilled a line-drive homer over the wall in left against Titan starter Jon Smith after a one-out double by Jeremy Reed.

The Titans came back with two runs on Brett Kay’s two-run single. David Bacani led off the inning with a ground-ball single past third and moved to second when Guzman’s bunt went for a hit. Both runners advanced on Corapci’s sacrifice, and Kay lashed a hit into short right.

The 49ers hit the ball hard against Smith early in the third, but Guzman took an extra-base hit away from leadoff batter Nick Covarrubias with a diving catch in the left-field corner. Guzman also went to the wall to run down a drive by Reed, but dropped the ball when he banged into the fence. Smith got out of the inning when he retired the next two batters.

Fullerton loaded the bases with none out in the third on a walk to Guzman, a hit by Corapci and a hit batter, but Kay grounded into a double play that scored a run.

The 49ers tied it at 3-3 in the fourth on Paul Macaluso’s solo homer to left.

The Titans took a 5-3 lead in the fifth. Guzman led off with a homer to center, and Corapci doubled. Rifkin and Kay struck out, but Rouse singled, driving in another run.