Fresno St. Rallies to Beat Fullerton, 9-7, in PCAA Series Opener

They say the key to beating the really good pitchers is getting to them early. Cal State Fullerton, facing Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. Player of the Year Mark Gardner of Fresno State, did just that Friday night at Beiden Field.

And, well, so much for baseball axioms.

The Titans scored six runs in the first four innings, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs rallied for six runs in the fifth en route to a 9-7 victory in the first game of a best-of-three championship series for the PCAA’s automatic NCAA playoff berth. The teams meet again tonight at 7, with Game 3, if necessary, scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday.

PCAA North Division champion Fresno (40-20) collected 13 hits, and Gardner regained his form to allow just three hits and one run in the last five innings, increasing his NCAA-leading strikeout total to 173 in the process. Gardner (15-4) struck out 10.

“We were one base hit away from chasing him (in the fourth),” Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said. “But he improved dramatically when he got the lead and that’s the hallmark of a great pitcher.”

Titan center fielder John Fishel had a pair of tape-measure home runs--a three-run shot in the third and a solo blast in the ninth--but it wasn’t enough as the defending national champions fell to 36-31-1 for the season and are now one game away from the end of what would be their worst season in 12 years.