Titans Sweep Fresno, Move Into First Place

For the first 2 1/2 months of the baseball season, Cal State Fullerton has been an enigma.

The Titans have drifted around .500, generally searching for consistency.

Even this week started with a loss to USC on Tuesday, leaving Fullerton only two games above .500.

But after a 15-4 victory over Fresno State Saturday in a Big West Conference game at Fullerton, the Titans suddenly have an identity they can live with--conference-title contenders.

The victory completed a three-game sweep for Fullerton (21-16, 5-1 in conference), which moved into first place, percentage points ahead of Fresno State.

“We always knew we had the team,” second baseman Mate Borgogno said. “In conference, we have just started to put it all together.”

Fullerton had a season-high 18 hits and a season-high four home runs Saturday.

Freshman Phil Nevin opened Fullerton’s scoring with a solo home run, his team-leading 10th.

Rich Gonzales added a three-run home run in the second inning, his third.

Domingo Mota hit his second and Kevin Farlow hit his fourth on back-to-back solo homers in the seventh.

“It’s a coach’s dream, how well we played,” Fullerton Coach Larry Cochell said. “We finally put it all together and played like I thought we could all along.”

Fullerton’s first three batters were especially outstanding Saturday.

Nevin was four for four and scored four runs. Borgogno broke out of a slump with three hits, three runs and five RBIs.

Gonzales added a single and a ground-rule double to his home run and four RBIs.

Gonzales’ home run capped a five-run second that gave Fullerton a 6-1 lead.

Fresno State (27-14, 6-3) rallied with three in the third, but Cochell went to his second reliever--Doug Ketchen--and things quieted down.

Bill Fitzgerald started for Fullerton but lasted only 1 1/3 innings. He was replaced by Rich Faulks in the second with the bases loaded and one out.

Faulks got a double play to end the inning, but allowed three runs in the third before being replaced by Ketchen.

Ketchen (3-2) allowed four hits, but no runs, in 5 2/3 innings for the victory. He had three strikeouts. Chris Robinson pitched a perfect ninth.

“He was the key to the ballgame,” Cochell said of Ketchen. “They were making a run and he shut them down. That was critical.”

Fresno State pulled to within 6-4 in the third, but the Titans scored four times in the fourth to take a 10-4 lead. They added three more in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

Borgogno, a left-handed hitter, pulled a ball into the right-center field gap for a two-run triple in the fourth. Paul Bunch added an RBI double and Frank Charles had an RBI single in the same inning.

Nevin, Borgogno and Gonzales hit consecutive doubles in the sixth, and Frank Charles added an RBI single for three runs.

Borgogno’s double was again up the alley in right-center.

“I was able to turn on the ball and pull it today,” Borgogno said. “In the first two games, they pitched me away and played me to hit to left. Today, they pitched me in for some reason.”

Borgogno’s batting average had dropped 32 points in the last five games before Saturday, but he was three for four and raised it 10 points to .371.

Ranbir Grewal gave up six runs, five of them earned, in 1 2/3 innings to take the loss for Fresno State, which had a eight-game winning streak coming into the series.