Big Inning Propels Titans in First Round : NCAA baseball: Fullerton scores five in eighth to beat Northwestern State (La.), 11-3, in regional opener.

Nobody could have mistaken it for classic baseball. But at this stage of the season, the most important thing is to win, and Cal State Fullerton did that Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest I regional.

The Titans (42-13) rocked Keith Moore, the top pitcher for Northwestern State (La.), for 12 hits and went on to an 11-3 victory.

Six errors by the Demons helped Fullerton. The Titans had three errors, but they also had stronger pitching from Dan Ricabal (9-1) and reliever Ted Silva, who recorded his 12th save.

“Nobody could seem to catch it very well in this game,” Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said. “Both teams had their troubles from that standpoint, but the key to our success was that Dan got us off to a good start and gave us a little better momentum.”

Fullerton, winning its regional opener for the sixth time in its last seven appearances, advances into the second round at 5 p.m. (PDT) today against Texas Christian. TCU turned back Memphis State, 11-3, with Nolan Ryan’s son, Reid, getting the victory as his father looked on.

Ricabal gave up four hits in 6 2/3 innings, and the Titans led, 6-2, through the seventh. But Northwestern State of Natchitoches, La., didn’t seem out of it until the Titans scored five times in the bottom of the eighth.

“When it was 6-3, I thought we still had a chance to win,” Northwestern State Coach Jim Wells said. “But you can’t beat anyone when you make six errors. They made errors, too, but they came back from them.”

Garrido said the infield at Allie Reynolds Stadium was more difficult to deal with defensively than most.

“The dirt seemed to come up in clumps, and it was more dusty. That made it tricky. We’ll just have to be more aggressive on ground balls here in the future.”

Fullerton got rolling early against Moore, who came into the game with a 1.25 earned-run average, one of the best in the nation. The Titans scored one run in the first. Northwestern State’s second baseman, Daniel Tomlin, who had committed only one error this season, made a throwing error in the first inning that allowed Mark Kotsay to reach base. Bret Hemphill’s two-out double drove in Kotsay.

Ricabal sailed through three innings before having control problems in the fourth. He walked Rob Landstad and Marco Guajardo and both advanced on a passed ball. With two out, Matt Donner reached on an infield single and a run crossed to tie the score, 1-1. Ricabal escaped without further damage, however, when Hemphill, the Titan catcher, caught Guajardo off third on Donner’s attempt to steal second.

The Titans regained the lead with three runs in the fourth. Jeff Ferguson singled, advanced on a sacrifice and went to third when Sal Mancuso reached on an infield error. Adam Millan’s bouncer over third drove in Ferguson, and Jeremy Giambi doubled to deep left center, driving in Mancuso. Jason Gill’s sacrifice fly drove in Fullerton’s final run of the inning.

Ricabal cooled another mild threat in the fifth. After Scotty Stafford walked and Brad Duncan reached on an error by shortstop Jack Jones, Ricabal got Tomlin to bounce into a double play to end the inning.

Fullerton came back with two runs in the fifth. Dante Powell and Kotsay had back-to-back doubles to open the inning and score Powell. Hemphill also singled and Kotsay scored when the ball was mishandled in right field.

Northwestern State picked up another run in the seventh. Donner was hit by a pitch and Zack Watts singled. The run scored on an error by Ferguson, the Titan second baseman. At that point, the Titans went to the bullpen with two outs. Chad Rolish got the final out in the inning.

Rolish got into trouble in the eighth when two hits and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Silva got the Titans out of the inning with only one run, thanks to a sparkling play by Craig Skyberg, who replaced Jason Gill at third base. Skyberg made a leaping grab of Watts’ high bouncer to get the out, although Donner scored on the play. Silva then got Stafford to pop up, ending the inning.

“That play by Skyberg had a great deal to do with us holding them off,” Garrido said. “That could have been a big inning for them.”

And the Titans’ five-run eighth ended any Northwestern State hope for a comeback. A two-run triple by Jones and an RBI single by Skyberg were the big hits, but the Demons also made three of their six errors in the inning.