College Baseball Roundup : Titans Beat BYU to Win Best of West Tournament

Cal State Fullerton rallied for two runs in the seventh inning and three in the eighth to defeat Brigham Young, 5-3, in the title game of the Best of the West tournament in Fresno.

Pat Garman and tournament Most Valuable Player John Eccles hit back-to-back home runs to narrow the gap to 3-2 in the seventh. Eccles tied the score in the eighth with a double that scored Jef Garcia. Ken Garcia followed with the winning hit, a two-run double off the wall in left-center.

Mike Harkey (5-4) gave up one run in the second and two in the sixth, but held on for the win. He gave up six hits, struck out seven and walked only one.

Fullerton is 19-9 and BYU is 11-6-2.

In nonconference action:

UC Irvine 11-5, Oral Roberts 5-9--The Anteaters got a complete game from Craig Brink (3-1) to defeat the fifth-ranked Titans in the first game. It was Brink’s third complete game of the season and the fifth for UCI. Tom Baine drove in two runs with a pair of sacrifice flies but had his 13-game hitting streak stopped. Eddie Clark was 2 for 2, and walked three times for UC Irvine (10-8-2).

Oral Roberts (23-6) came back in the second game and beat Doug Linton (2-2) for the second time in two days with three runs in the sixth. Devan Shockley doubled in two runs to give UC Irvine an early 3-1 lead.

Irvine opens Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. play Thursday against Santa Barbara at Anteater Field.

In NAIA Division III action:

Southern California College 1-6, Westmont 6-1--After losing the first game, Vanguards left-hander Tim Fortugno limited the Warriors to a run.

SCC is 3-1 in conference, 12-7 overall.

In South Coast Conference community college action:

Orange Coast 4, Cerritos 3--Brett Webber singled to drive in Mark Rasmussen in the eighth inning for the winning run at Cerritos as the Pirates (7-0, 15-4) continued their early season surge. The Falcons are 5-3 in conference. Longo Garcia (4-1) pitched a five-hitter for the win. The Pirates’ Rasmussen, Ralph Ramirez and Paul Ellison had two hits each.

Rancho Santiago 10, Saddleback 1--Ruben Gonzalez hit a two-run home run, his fourth of the season and the 15th of his career in the second inning to tie the Dons’ career record held by Ed Amelung (1978-79). Gonzalez was 2 for 3 with four RBIs. Mike Schwabe (5-0) lost his shutout in the ninth but finished the game for the win. He had nine strikeouts and gave up nine hits. Mitch Swalley was 3 for 4 and scored two runs, and teammate Dave Kirkpatrick was 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Rancho Santiago (6-2, 12-4).

Cypress 7, Mt. San Antonio 4--Rene Licon broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run home run in the the fifth for the Chargers at Mt. SAC. Eric Silvey (3-0) pitched the last five innings and struck out five for the win. Ed Evans and Rey Hernandez had three hits each for Cypress (5-3, 18-4).

Fullerton 21, Compton 0--Anthony Moreno hit two home runs and had four RBIs to lead the Hornets at Compton. Moreno was 3 for 4 and scored three runs. Jim Bennett (4-2) pitched the first five innings for the win. Mike Alvarez, had a home run among his three hits and five RBIs. Phil Diplock also had three hits and two RBIs for the Hornets (4-4, 8-8).