Titans Overcome Deficit to Win Opener : College baseball: After Stanford takes three-run lead, Fullerton comes back for 6-5 victory.

It was a struggle, but top-ranked Cal State Fullerton is still unbeaten in the NCAA college baseball playoffs, thanks to solid defense and some timely hitting in the Titans’ opening game Saturday in the College World Series.

Fullerton (54-9) bent a little, but didn’t break in the late innings, turning back a Stanford threat in the top of the ninth inning for a 6-5 victory in front of 15,643 in Rosenblatt Stadium.

“They seemed to have us right where they wanted us, and then the game of baseball jumped into it,” Fullerton Coach Augie Garrido said, smiling.

Stanford (39-24) had two runners on and a 3-0 count on Dusty Allen when Titan relief pitcher Mark Kotsay went down the middle with a fastball, but Allen popped it up. With their 15th consecutive victory, the Titans advance into a winners’ bracket game at 12:36 p.m. Monday against Tennessee. A year ago, the Titans were beaten in their opener by Georgia Tech and had to battle through the elimination round to reach the semifinals before losing to Georgia Tech a second time.

Saturday’s game was fairly typical of the way the Titans have played lately. They didn’t panic when they fell behind, 3-0, in the first inning, were stubborn on defense the rest of the way, then won with a three-run flurry in the seventh.

The seventh was right out of the Titans’ squeeze-it-out-somehow playbook. Jeremy Giambi walked to open the inning, advanced on Kotsay’s sacrifice, stole third and scored on a fielder’s choice. Then Joe Fraser doubled, driving in Robert Matos, before D.C. Olsen singled in Fraser.

“Fullerton plays solid baseball, and they do all the little things it takes to win the game,” said Stanford Coach Mark Marquess, whose team also lost two of three games to Fullerton in the regular season. “They did the things that Augie’s teams do so well. They’re so consistent and they don’t do anything to beat themselves.”

Garrido was especially pleased.

“It was a great college baseball game,” Garrido said. “I’m typically pretty satisfied, win or lose, if we play well, but I realized how much I really wanted to win this game in the ninth inning.”

Ted Silva (17-1) picked up the victory after giving up two home runs in the first inning. Silva allowed 12 hits in 7 1/3 innings before Kotsay took over in the eighth and picked up his 11th save. Kotsay also was two for four at the plate.

In Stanford’s first, Cale Carter singled, and A.J. Hinch drilled the first homer off Silva inside the left-field foul pole. The next batter, Steve Carver, drove the ball over the fence in the right-field power alley.

The Cardinal threatened again in the second. Troy Kent doubled and a sacrifice bunt moved him to third. Joe Kilburg lined to right, but Robert Matos’ throw nailed Kent trying to score.

“They really punished the ball in the first inning,” Silva said. “They really hit it hard. But I think that play Rob [Matos] made kicked us into gear. We were a different team after that.”

Fullerton got two runs back in the third on two bases-empty home runs by Tony Miranda (his 11th of the year) and Brian Loyd (his ninth).

In the Stanford fourth, Silva gave up a single to Jon Schaeffer, but Loyd, the Titan catcher, threw him out trying to steal second, saving a run when the next batter, Brian Dallimore, doubled.

Both coaches agreed that the throws by Matos and Loyd were pivotal.

“There were a lot of hits, but the defense was the difference,” Garrido said. Marquess also thought Silva pitched well in the middle innings after the slow start.

The Titans tied the score, 3-3, in the fifth when Kotsay and Loyd hit consecutive two-out doubles.

Fullerton’s three runs in the seventh put the Titans ahead, 6-3, but Stanford came back for two in the eighth. Carver singled to open the inning and scored on Allen’s double. Silva got Schaeffer to ground out, but pitching coach George Horton decided on a change. Kotsay came on in relief, and Dallimore greeted him with a run-scoring double. Kotsay, however, struck out the next two Cardinal batters to turn back that challenge.

Kotsay gave up two hits in the ninth after getting the first two batters out, then got the popup to end the game.