Loyola Rises Up, Stops No. 7 CS Fullerton, 8-2 : Baseball: The Lions, who had lost 11 of past 12 games, break open a close game with a four-run fifth inning.

The Loyola Marymount baseball team got a complete game from Shane Bowers and some timely hitting and steady fielding to defeat seventh-ranked Cal State Fullerton, 8-2, in a nonconference game Thursday at Loyola.

“It was a complete performance on our part,” Loyola Coach Jody Robinson said. “We played a good game of catch, (Greg) Carl played well at shortstop and Bowers set the tone with his pitching.”

The Lions (12-30) had lost three consecutive games and 11 of 12, but they benefited from five Titan errors.

“It was a very nice win for us,” outfielder Matt Marks said. “That was one of the best games we’ve played all year.”

The victory, which avenged a 13-2 defeat to Fullerton (28-12) in February, was also special for Robinson. He played and coached at Fullerton under longtime Coach Augie Garrido, and played and coached with Titan assistant George Horton.

“It’s nice to have a chance to play the spoiler,” Robinson said.

In pitching his second complete game of the season, Bowers (2-4) struck out seven and scattered 10 hits.

“That’s one of the better pitched games we’ve had all year,” Robinson said. “He stayed with it the whole way and he pitched out of two or three jams.”

Bowers credited the Lion defense.

“Our defense played solid and picked me up with a couple of great plays,” he said.

The Lions took a 2-0 lead after two innings. They scored on a sacrifice fly by outfielder Mike Seal in the first inning and a single by Marks in the second.

Fullerton narrowed its deficit to 2-1 on a home run by outfielder Dante Powell in the third.

But Loyola Marymount broke open the game with four runs in the fifth, highlighted by Marks’ eighth home run and second baseman Chris Intlekofer’s two-run triple down the left-field line.

In the eighth, the Lions scored two more runs. With runners on first and second, Carl singled to score Intlekofer. An errant throw on the play by Fullerton first baseman Bret Hemphill allowed Marks to score.

“Our eighth inning was really important,” Robinson said. “That gave Bowers a bit of a cushion to work with.”

Fullerton ace Dan Naulty (8-1) gave up six runs before he was relieved by Mike Parisi in the fifth.

The teams play a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday in Fullerton.