COLLEGE WORLD SERIES : Quick Lead Keeps Titans Alive : Baseball: Seven runs in first two innings too much for Miami in 7-5 decision. Rematch is Friday.

Cal State Fullerton’s College World Series game against Miami Wednesday was like a leisurely drive through the country that suddenly turns into a high-speed chase.

“We built an early seven-run lead, which was a pleasant surprise, put our seat belts on and road it out the rest of the way,” Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said.

The Titans almost needed an airbag.

As it turned out, a five-run first inning and two-run second provided a big enough cushion for Fullerton, which held on for a 7-5 victory over the top-ranked and top-seeded Hurricanes (55-9) before 12,970 in Rosenblatt Stadium.

But the Titans (45-16) had to survive several tense moments before advancing to Friday’s elimination game against the Hurricanes, the winner of which will gain a berth in Saturday’s national championship game against either Pepperdine or Texas.

After Steve Sisco and Nate Rodriquez highlighted the first inning with two-run singles and Phil Nevin’s two-run homer in the second made it 7-0, the Titans were able to laugh when Miami’s Kevin DiGiacomo blasted a Dan Naulty pitch over the left-field bleachers for a bases-empty home run in the sixth--it was the second time in the series that a Naulty pitch almost landed in Iowa.

And there was no need to panic when Donald Robinson lined a Naulty pitch over the right-field fence for a home run that made it 7-2 in the seventh.

But when Titan bullpen ace Chad Dembisky, who had allowed only one earned run in the last 25 1/3 innings, gave up three in the eighth and put the tying runs on first and third with two outs, it was nail-biting time.

Dembisky ran a full count on Miami’s Greg Coleman, a Servite High School graduate who played at Fullerton in 1989, before getting him to hit an inside pitch slowly to Nevin at third. Nevin’s throw to first beat Coleman by a step to preserve the 7-5 lead.

James Popoff, the team’s top starter who had strolled to the bullpen in the sixth inning to get a little work in preparation for Friday’s game, was thrust into the role of emergency reliever.

He started the ninth and got No. 3 hitter Johnathen Smith to ground to Nevin at third. Cleanup batter Charles Johnson lofted a popup into short right field that bounced off the heel of second baseman Sisco’s glove and fell for what was generously ruled a hit.

But Popoff got DiGiacomo to pop out to second and Frank Mora to ground out to third to end the game, bringing the heart rates of Titan players, coaches and fans back to normal.

“The game’s kind of boring when you’re up by seven, and we’re an exciting team, so it was up to me to put some excitement back into it,” Dembisky said, able to laugh through the pain. “I didn’t make bad pitches out there, but the balls dropped in. I just thank God for James.”

The Titans’ schizophrenic performance Wednesday--dominant team one moment, feeble the next--was a summation of Fullerton’s season, during which the Titans manhandled many weaker teams for two games and lost to them on Sunday.

Perhaps that’s why Garrido seemed more surprised that his team has gotten this far than relieved that it held on for Wednesday’s victory.

“During the year we weren’t able to sustain the team attitude for long periods of time--we won two of three games from everyone we played,” Garrido said. “The good news is we did that against Stanford, Arizona, Long Beach and Fresno State. But New Mexico State, Pacific, San Jose State and UC Irvine were the reasons we didn’t win our conference.

“We can win two out of three from the 1927 Yankees or nine guys from the street corner. I didn’t think the team had the discipline to get this far.”

They almost didn’t have enough to make it past Wednesday’s game. Several Titans said the reason victory almost slipped away is that they reverted to some old, bad habits.

“Since the regionals, we’ve been concentrating on the team effort, but we got away from that a bit today,” Sisco said. “Guys started getting disappointed with their own at-bats. The dugout was quiet. We got too comfortable.”

Said center fielder Chris Powell, who had three hits and scored a run: “The coaches would say, ‘C’mon, let’s go,’ and try to get us up, but this is the College World Series--they shouldn’t have to say that. Usually when we get a big lead we play relaxed, but we were out of character today. We were real tight. This isn’t as sweet as it usually is when you win.”

Garrido hopes to restore the old flame during practice today.

“We’re not satisfied with the way we finished the game, so we need to start a new two-game season Thursday,” Garrido said. “Our plans are to start over.”

Except for Nevin. Garrido would like him to keep doing what he’s been doing all week in Omaha.

Nevin, selected by the Houston Astros as the No. 1 overall pick in Monday’s free agent draft, now has seven hits in 11 series at-bats (.636) with two home runs, nine runs batted in and seven walks in four games.

“The best way to pitch Phil is low and behind him,” Miami Coach Ron Fraser said. “He seems to have some problems getting his bat behind his helmet.”

One reason Nevin has put up some big numbers here is that he’s batting behind some hot hitters. Wednesday, Jeremy Carr opened the game with a double and Nevin and Jason Moler walked to load the bases. Tony Banks lined an RBI single to center and Sisco followed with a two-run single to left off Miami starter Jose Prado.

Banks and Sisco advanced on D.C. Olsen’s groundout and scored on Rodriquez’s bloop single to left. After Powell singled with one out in the second, Nevin hit a Prado slider that didn’t slide and launched it into the left-field bleachers for a 7-0 lead.

It almost didn’t hold up. Fullerton had six hits in the first two innings but only four in the final seven off relievers Denis Pujals and Fadul Arrieta. Miami took advantage of the Titans’ dry spell and came within one big hit of tying the score.

Robinson pulled the Hurricanes within 7-3 with an RBI double to left, pinch-hitter Keith Tippett knocked in another run with a single to center, and Gino DiMare’s single off Dembisky scored another to make it 7-5.

“We tried a little magic at the end,” Fraser said. “But it’s tough to come back when you’re seven down.”