THE COLLEGES : Roundup : Titans, Garcia Beat LSU in Baseball

Longo Garcia pitched a seven-hitter as Cal State Fullerton defeated Louisiana State University, 7-2, Friday night in the first round of the New Orleans baseball tournament in front of 4,929 in the Superdome.

The victory avenges the Titans’ loss to LSU in the championship game of South Regional II last year. The Tigers beat Fullerton and Garcia, 7-3, in that game.

Friday, Garcia (7-1) struck out nine and walked five. He allowed just one earned run.

Fullerton’s Greg Mannion went 2 for 4, including a two-run single in the top of the fourth inning to put the Titans ahead, 3-1. Brent Mayne had two hits and an RBI single in seventh and a two-run double in the ninth inning.

Fullerton (21-9) plays New Orleans in the second round today at 11 a.m. PST.

LSU is 16-6.

In California Collegiate Athletic Assn. baseball:

Chapman 8, Cal State Los Angeles 4--Chris Cutliff went 2 for 4 with a double and home run to lead Chapman at Cal State Los Angeles. He has hit safely in eight straight games and 18 of the last 19. Cutliff’s home run was his fourth in the last seven games and his sixth of the season. Bucky Bollinger went 2 for 4 and drove in a run with a double for Chapman (16-12-1, 5-2). Jim Bennett (3-2) went 7 innings for the victory. Los Angeles is 11-19 and 3-4.

In the Cal State Northridge softball tournament:

Chapman 9, UC Riverside 4--Leslie Burke hit a grand slam in the third inning and Christina Webb hit a solo homer in the fifth to lead Chapman (27-12) in Pool A at Cal State Northridge. Shelly Mahon (6-6) went the distance for the victory. In the first game, Chapman’s Jacki Blake (9-4) threw an eight-hit shutout, as the Panthers defeated Cal Lutheran, 2-0.

In the UC Irvine men’s tennis tournament:

UC Irvine 6, Chapman 0--Mark Kaplan defeated Miles Walker, 7-6, 6-3 to lead Irvine (14-3). Kaplan is 11-9 on the season. Irvine is ranked sixth in the nation among NCAA Division I schools. Chapman is ranked No. 1 in Division II.

In nonconference volleyball:

USC 3, UC Irvine 0--Den-Kai Liu had 11 kills to lead USC to 15-10, 15-1, 15-3 victories at UC Irvine. Brian Kehe had 12 kills for Irvine (1-13).