Left-Handers Right for Titans : NCAA baseball: Cal State Fullerton overpowers Tulane’s left-handed starter in 8-0 victory.

The eyes of Cal State Fullerton players lit up Friday night when the Titans learned Tulane would be starting a left-hander against them in an NCAA South I Region second-round game.

Their bats were soon to follow.

Fullerton jumped on Green Wave lefty David Welch for four runs in the first inning and hit three home runs in the game en route to an 8-0 victory before 2,110 at Louisiana State’s Alex Box Field.

Senior right-hander Dan Naulty allowed only two hits and struck out five in seven innings to earn the victory for Fullerton, which is the only undefeated team remaining in the double-elimination regional.

Marcus Nelson preserved the shutout, allowing one hit in a scoreless eighth and ninth. Tulane (39-23) had more hit batsmen (four) than hits (three).

The Titans (40-15) will face the winner of today’s 9 a.m. PDT game between Louisiana State and Tulane at 5:30 p.m. Providence and Ohio State, which upset top-seeded LSU Friday, will meet at 1 p.m.

Jason Moler, who was hitless in four at-bats in Thursday’s victory over Ohio State, hit a two-run homer in the first inning, Frank Herman added a blast off the scoreboard in left in the sixth and D.C. Olsen added a two-run homer in the seventh for Fullerton, which is 8-1 against lefties this season.

“I was pumped when I found out we were going against a lefty,” said Herman, a starting center fielder for much of the past two seasons but a platoon player in recent weeks. “There’s a confidence factor against lefties, and more people get fired up. We always hit left-handers well.”

Phil Nevin also had a big hit for Fullerton, poking an outside pitch to right field for a two-run single in the first to give the Titans a 2-0 lead.

Moler also doubled, stole third and scored on Jim Betzsold’s groundout in the sixth, and Dante Powell had two hits.

Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said before the tournament that the Titans have been underachievers for much of the season, but Friday night’s game was at least a step toward the level Garrido believes this team can reach.

The Titans got outstanding pitching and some clutch hits. They stole three bases, and their speed was a factor in several runs. They played solid defense, turning a double play in the seventh and committing only one error, first baseman Betzsold’s misplay of a fifth-inning popup.

“At this point, the players have elevated their level of play,” Garrido said. “We played OK Thursday and good throughout the game tonight, but every time I get excited about this team and feel confident about what they could do next, the bottom falls out. So I’m not going to get my hopes up.

“The main advantage of winning tonight was that we don’t have to play at 11 a.m. (today). That’s really going to stretch the other teams’ pitching staffs, having to play twice in a day, but teams have won regionals in those situations. There are no guarantees.”

Fullerton’s only glaring weakness--consistency in the third starting pitcher’s spot--could become an issue tonight.

Freshman Derek Fahs has gotten the most starts in that role and has been pushed of late by freshman Mike Parisi, but Garrido said he is leaning toward senior right-hander Paco Chavez, whose 20 appearances have all been in relief this season, as tonight’s starter.

Garrido will have ace James Popoff ready for Sunday’s game, but if the Titans lose tonight, they would have to win twice Sunday to win the regional and gain a berth in the College World Series.

If Fullerton, which has won 10 consecutive regional games dating back to 1988, wins tonight, it would play today’s Ohio State-Providence winner Sunday at 11 a.m. A second game would follow if the Titans lost the first Sunday.

“It’s going to take a lot more innings to get this thing done,” Garrido said.

If those innings are anything like the ones Naulty gave Fullerton Friday, the Titans’ chances would be very good. Naulty calmed the Green Wave bats, allowing only a bloop single to Alfredo Mesa and a hard-hit single by Brian Forest in the third.

Tulane had runners on first and second with one out in the third, but Naulty got Rick Chanove to pop to short and struck out Tom Morton to end the threat.

Naulty, who has finally recovered from the flu-like symptoms that were bothering him for the last three weeks of the regular season, ran into only one other problem when Tulane put runners on first and second in the fifth. But he got Morton to fly to center to end the inning.

“I felt really good, and the offense made it real easy for me by scoring four in the first,” said Naulty, who is 6-feet-5 and 190 pounds. “I had fun tonight. It’s the first time in a while that I’ve been able to do that.”

Region Notes

Three Cal State Fullerton players made Collegiate Baseball Magazine’s All-American team, which was announced Friday. Junior Phil Nevin (.394, 20 homers, 72 RBIs) was named second-team third baseman, senior Jason Moler (.367, 24 doubles, 53 RBIs) was named third-team catcher, and senior James Popoff (11-2, 3.03 earned run average) was named third-team right-handed pitcher. . . . The top two seeds in the South I Region were upset earlier Friday when Louisiana State lost to Ohio State, 5-0, and South Alabama lost to Providence, 4-0. Tony DeAngelo pitched a seven-hitter for the Friars, and Scott Klingenbeck threw a five-hitter for the Buckeyes. . . . Fullerton pitcher Dan Naulty’s three hit batsmen gave him 15 for the season, tying the Titans’ single-season record he set last year. . . . Today’s Fullerton game will be broadcast live on KMNY (1600).