Titans Get a Taste of Their Own Medicine

Cal State Fullerton came into Sunday’s key Big West Conference game against Long Beach State with 52 home runs and 11 players hitting better than .300, but it was the 49ers who turned out to be the sluggers.

Long Beach State, the weakest hitting team in the conference, ripped Titan starting pitcher Kirk Irvine for five runs, including two homers, in the first inning and went on to a 9-6 victory that decided the three-game series. The game left the 49ers alone in first place entering the final weekend of conference play.

Long Beach State (30-19, 13-5 in the Big West) was hitting only .273 with 26 home runs, but the 49ers pounded out 13 hits against four pitchers in front of 2,643 at Blair Field. The crowd established a record of 8,035 for a three-game series hosted by Long Beach State.

Fullerton, which began the series top-ranked nationally, was left to ponder its fourth loss in five games, all of them in the Big West, and an expected slide in the rankings. The Titans (39-8, 12-6) dropped into a second-place tie with UC Santa Barbara and Nevada Las Vegas.

“We did some things that were uncharacteristic for us, like those two homers,” Long Beach State Coach Dave Snow said. “We’ve been struggling to get runs. But that’s what it takes to beat a team like Fullerton. It certainly was no easy deal. I think we got to Irvine before he could get settled in.”

Designated hitter Jason Hodges hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the season, and J.J. Newkirk’s three-run shot was his first. That burst was the first time Long Beach State has scored as many as five runs in an inning in more than a month. The 49ers scored another run in the third and two more in the fourth for an 8-1 lead.

“That was an unusual display of power by them, and that lead was a big advantage,” Titan Coach Augie Garrido said. “They did the kinds of things it takes to win championships. The best thing about this game from our standpoint was the way we battled back. That makes me feel better about this club now than I did a week ago.”

The 49ers built the lead to 6-1 against reliever Luis Estrella in the third. Casey Snow, who had doubled, took third a wild pitch third strike to Keith Cowley that got past catcher Brian Loyd, and scored on Loyd’s errant throw to first base. A single by Will Skett and a double by Hodges were the big hits in Long Beach State’s two-run fourth that chased Estrella.

The Titans, who scored once in the first, came back with two runs in the fifth and one in the sixth.

In the fifth, Long Beach State starter Steve Hueston gave up consecutive hits to Tony Martinez, Jack Jones and Steve Chatham, then walked Jerome Alviso. Reliever Justin Siegel replaced Hueston and walked Mark Kotsay, forcing in one of two runs. But Jeremy Giambi, the Big West’s top hitter, grounded into a double play, ending the inning.

Another double play killed a potential big inning in the sixth. Fullerton, which stranded 11, loaded the bases with none out, when C.J. Ankrum was hit by pitch, Loyd doubled and Mike Lamb walked. Martinez grounded into a double play. Ankrum scored, but the 49ers escaped without more damage.

The Titans threatened in the ninth with two runs, but a key call went against Fullerton. Ankrum thought he was hit on a pitch, but the umpire ruled otherwise, and later Ankrum took a third strike. Lamb, the next batter, doubled in Fullerton’s second run of the inning, but the rally ended there.

Closer Ryan Brannan pitched the final three innings for Long Beach State, getting his 11th save. “None of our pitchers did anything fancy, but they came up with the big outs,” Snow said.

Garrido said the key for the Titans now will be how they respond after losing the series. “From the fifth inning on, we had quality at-bats with tough conditions to do that, even though we didn’t get the timely hits,” Garrido said.

The Titans close the Big West regular season at home in a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara beginning Friday night. Long Beach State is on the road at San Jose State, and Nevada Las Vegas plays at New Mexico State. The automatic berth in the NCAA playoffs won’t be decided until the conference postseason tournament, May 10-12 at Fullerton.