Chavez Preserves Titans’ Victory

When Mark Kotsay connected for a three-run first-inning home run and Cal State Fullerton went on to an early six-run lead against Nevada on Friday, it looked as if it might be an easy night for the Titans.

But it wasn’t to be. Nevada scrambled back for five runs to cut the lead to one, and it took a sparkling pitching performance by Mark Chavez in relief to shut down the Wolf Pack for an 8-5 Fullerton victory in front of 1,389 at Titan Field.

Chavez came in with the bases loaded and none out in the seventh, got the Titans out of the inning with only two runs and then held Nevada hitless in the final two innings, striking out four of the final six batters he faced.

Chavez struck out the first batter he faced after replacing reliever Luis Estrella before Wade Jackson singled in two runs. But that was the only hit Chavez allowed. He got Glen Carson to bounce back to the mound for the inning-ending double play.

The victory kept Fullerton (34-4) in first place in the Big West with an 8-2 record; Nevada fell to 22-11 and 4-6.

“We were lucky we got out of the seventh as well as we did,” said Chavez, who picked up his seventh save, preserving the victory for Kirk Irvine (10-2). Irvine gave up six hits, five walks and three runs in six innings. Shane Slayton and Andy Dominique homered off him in Nevada’s three-run sixth.

Kotsay’s 14th homer of the season was the 39th of his career, tying him with the school’s two other Golden Spikes Award winners--Tim Wallach and Phil Nevin--for sixth on the all-time list.

Kotsay’s 395-foot shot to right-center drove in Steve Chathan, who had walked, and Jack Jones, who was safe on a bunt. The fourth run of the inning came across when Jeremy Giambi singled, stole second, advanced on a bunt and eventually scored when Brian Loyd bounced out. Giambi had three hits in the game in five at-bats.

The Titans added two more runs in the third. Giambi led off the inning with a single, stole second, moved to third on Mike Lamb’s hit and scored when Loyd grounded into a fielder’s choice. Loyd scored on Tony Martinez’s sacrifice fly after moving to third on Ankrum’s hit.

Irvine walked the tightrope in the early innings. He gave up two hits and a walk in the first, but the Wolf Pack came away without a run. Two double plays and a runner picked off at first by Loyd helped Irvine early.

The Wolf Pack got rolling after Coach Gary Powers was ejected in the fifth after protesting the call on a failed stolen base attempt.

The two homers in the sixth cut the Titan lead to 6-3. Slayton drilled a two-run shot afterJackson’s single, and Dominique homered with the bases empty and two outs.

Wildness quickly put Estrella in deep trouble. He threw only one strike in 11 pitches, walking the first two batters and hitting the third to load the bases. Associate head coach George Horton pulled him after that, bringing in Chavez.

The second game of the series is at 7 tonight.

In another conference game:

Long Beach State 7, New Mexico State 0--Marcus Jones pitched his second shutout of the season, a six-hitter with a career-high 12 strikeouts. Jason Knupfer doubled, tripled and drove in two runs and Casey Snow was two for three with two RBIs for the 49ers (24-15, 7-3).