College Baseball : Titans Beat Long Beach in PCAA Opener

Cal State Fullerton scored four runs in the third inning after two were out and went on to defeat Cal State Long Beach, 7-1, in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. baseball opener for both teams at Long Beach.

Junior Keith Watkins bunted for a single off losing pitcher Gary Mayer (1-3) after he had retired the first two hitters in the third inning.

Jef Garcia then singled and Pat Garman’s single drove home the first run. Catcher John Eccles’ single made it 2-0. Dann Howitt drove Garman and Eccles home with a double to the fence in left-center for the final two runs of the inning.

The Titans (1-0, 21-9) scored again in the sixth on a solo home run by Watkins, his fourth of the season. The home run equaled Watkins’ total all last season. He finished 3 for 5 with two RBIs.

Sophomore right-hander Mike Harkey (6-4) pitched eight innings, giving up 10 hits and striking out 11 before being replaced by Gary Buckles in the ninth. It was Harkey’s third consecutive win and the fourth in a row for Fullerton.

The Titans play Long Beach (8-14-1) today at 1 p.m. on 49er Field in the second of a three-game series.

In other PCAA action:

UC Irvine 11, Santa Barbara 2--Junior right-hander Gabby Rodrigez (2-1) gave up only four hits in 6 innings as the Anteaters snapped the Gauchos’ eight-game winning streak at Irvine. The win also ended UCI’s three-game losing streak.

Senior right-hander Bo Kent, normally a starter, came in to pitch the final 1 innings, striking out four, walking one and giving up two hits.

The Anteaters (1-1, 11-10-2) took a lead in the bottom of the first when Ed Clark singled and scored on the first of Tom Baine’s two triples. Baine later scored on Orange Coast transfer Gene Roumimper’s two-run home run. Clark finished 3 for 5, as did teammate Mark Webster. Roumimper, who leads the team with 28 RBIs, was 2 for 2.

Baine, UCI’s leading hitter at .412, also had three RBIs. The loss dropped Santa Barbara to 1-1 in the PCAA and 19-10 overall.

The teams meet today to close out the three-game series at noon on Anteater Field.

In Hancock Community College tournament action:

Taft 9, Cypress 6--The Chargers (18-6) lost for the second time in as many days despite a first-inning home run by Guillermo Roses, who was 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Mike Faddoul had a double and an RBI for Cypress. Bob Blankenship (1-2) took the loss.

The Chargers play Oxnard today at 2:30 in their final game of the tournament.