Orange County College Baseball : Stanford Gets 11th-Inning Victory Over Fullerton in Fight-Marred Game

An infield hit by Ruben Amaro Jr. scored David Esquer in the 11th inning Friday night as Stanford defeated Cal State Fullerton, 6-5, in a game delayed three times by bench-clearing brawls on Titan Field.

Stanford, which had a 4-0 lead after five innings, is 4-1. Fullerton is 0-2.

Stanford’s Frank Carey and Titan first baseman Paul Cameron fought in the third inning after Cameron tagged Carey out when an attempted double steal failed. In the bottom of the third, Cameron led off and was hit by a Jim Price pitch, setting off another brawl. Then, in the seventh, Fullerton’s Jim Osborne and Cardinal third baseman Mark Mactolf fought after Osborne slid into third. Both Osborne and Mactolf were ejected.

Stanford increased its lead to 4-0 in the fifth when catcher Ed Sprague hit a two-run home run.

Fullerton cut it to 4-2 in the sixth by scoring on two walks, three wild pitches and a sacrifice fly.

Kemer Brett’s bunt single drove in a run in the seventh to make it 4-3. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Mark Baca doubled and Andy Mota single him home to send the game into extra innings.

With one out in the 11th, Esquer drew a walk off losing pitcher Paul Johnson (0-1), who replaced Mike Harkey with two outs in the ninth. Esquer stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on Amaro’s infield to first.

In other nonconference games:

UC Irvine 11, Cal Poly Pomona 6--The Anteaters rallied from a 3-0 first-inning deficit to defeat the Broncos and end a four-game losing streak.

Jeff Oberdank, a transfer from Fullerton College, went 4 for 4 with three runs and an RBI to pace Irvine’s 20-hit attack. Mike Sugar was 2 for 4 with three RBIs and Marcus Robinson, Stacy Parker and Doug Klein each had three hits.

Sam Maatallah (1-1) pitched 4 innings in relief to earn the victory He allowed six hits and two earned runs. Rene Isenhart pitched one inning and took the loss for Pomona (2-3).

The Anteaters will play a noon doubleheader against St. Mary’s today in their home opener.

Chapman 14, St. Mary’s 7--Mike Cruz was 4 for 5 with two home home runs and three RBIs to lead the Panthers (1-2) in Hart Park at Orange.

Cruz’s homer in the fifth inning with a man on broke a 6-6 tie and gave Chapman the lead for good. Designated hitter John Warren went 2 for 5 with four RBIs.

Dary Speach (1-0) pitched four strong innings of relief to earn the victory. Speach allowed three hits and one run.

The Gaels, who defeated Cal State Fullerton Thursday, are 2-4.

UC Riverside 5, Southern California 0--Steve Young’s three-run home run in the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie and led the Highlanders past the Vanguards (1-2) at Costa Mesa.

Losing pitcher Robert Mansfield (0-1) hit Bob Noonan with a pitch to start the inning. Joe Koh drew a walk and Young followed with a drive well beyond the fence in right field.

George Goodale added a bases-loaded home run for Riverside in the sixth.

Winning pitcher Tom Sanders, who went eight innings, and reliever Jim Picoice combined on a five-hitter.