Lead Slips Away, but Titans Rally to Win

Cal State Fullerton let a six-run lead slip away Sunday against Nevada Las Vegas, but the Titans didn’t allow UNLV a little momentum for long.

Mark Kotsay hit a three-run homer, igniting a 10-run sixth inning, and the Titans went on to a 20-11 victory in front of 1,717 at Titan Field. It gave Fullerton its second 15-game winning streak of the season.

The nation’s No. 1-ranked team, seeking a second consecutive national championship, is 30-2 for the season, and 6-0 in the Big West Conference after the three-game sweep of the Rebels. It had been a while, Kotsay said, since he had gone to bat with his team trailing and runners on base. “It was exciting, like it was the other night when I came in to pitch in the ninth with the bases loaded,” Kotsay said.

Kotsay, whose ability to thrive in pressure situations helped him become college baseball’s player of the year in 1995, struck out the final batter Saturday night in a 4-2 victory, and this time his 12th homer of the season soared over the 385-foot mark in right-center, putting the Titans back in control after they fell behind, 8-7, in the fifth.

“Mark seemed to be more relaxed then than at any time in the series because he was playing for the team,” Coach Augie Garrido said. “That made it good. I was really pleased with the attitude and focus of the team after the lead changed hands. When the momentum shifted, we had to fight our way back, and Mark’s home run was one of the key factors.”

Fullerton had eight hits off four pitchers in the runaway sixth. Outfielder Skip Kiil had two in the inning, a triple and single, and scored twice. All but three of the runs in the inning were earned although there were four walks.

It was the second-biggest scoring show of the season for a team that is averaging 10 runs per game. The Titans scored 23 against outmanned Hawaii Hilo, but this 22-hit burst came against a Big West contender that is ranked 25th.

“We knew this team [UNLV] could really hit,” Garrido said. “We had to be ready to counter-punch their strength.”

Titan second baseman Mike Lamb had a big game, with four hits and four runs batted in. Lamb hit a bases-empty homer in the seventh, his fourth of the season. C.J. Ankrum also four hits, batting in three runs. Brian Loyd was three for five with two RBIs, and Tony Martinez had three hits and scored three times.

Despite falling to 27-11 for the year and 3-3 in the Big West, UNLV also made it a difficult day for Fullerton pitchers with 16 hits. Scott Hild started, but couldn’t hold a 6-0 lead after three innings. He went to the sidelines after giving up three runs in the fourth, and one more in UNLV’s five-run fifth. Reliever Luis Estrella got only one out in the fifth, giving up four hits and three runs before Mike Greenlee retired the side. Greenlee (2-1) earned the victory, giving up two hits and one run in 3 1/3 innings. Mark Chavez pitched the ninth, with UNLV getting two runs on three hits.

The Rebels might have done even more damage earlier had it not been for sparkling defensive plays by Ankrum at first base and Martinez at third at a time when UNLV, in contrast, was struggling defensively.

“They took three or four base hits away from us with their defense,” UNLV Coach Fred Dallimore said. “Their defense is very solid. That big inning just took us out of it. We didn’t get good pitching out of the bullpen.” Starter Mike Bauder (5-3) took the loss.

Fullerton’s next game is at 5 p.m. Tuesday against UCLA, a makeup of a rainout. The Titans go to New Mexico State for another Big West series later in the week.