Titans Take Series With Late Rally

Cal State Fullerton won its first baseball series of the season Sunday with a ninth-inning rally.

Catcher David Trentine lashed a single down the first-base line, driving in two runs, to give the Titans an 8-7 victory over California in front of 1,121 at Titan Field.

It was Fullerton’s second consecutive victory after the Bears won the series opener in 12 innings. Aaron Rowand had singled to start the inning, and Ryan Owens was hit by a pitch before Jojo Hernandez dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt to set the stage for the game-winning hit.

“I was really relaxed because there was only one out, and I knew [Kevin] Duck was hitting behind me,” Trentine said. “The infield was in, and I felt like all I had to do was meet the ball. That’s what I did.”

That meant the Titans didn’t need Duck to go for his fourth hit of the day. The Titan first baseman had driven in three runs earlier, including one on a leadoff home run in the eighth.

Hernandez, known as a free-swinger, was pleased he came through with the bunt Fullerton needed to advance both runners into scoring position and take away the double play.

“I don’t think I ever bunted in high school, and I only bunted once in junior college and once last year,” Hernandez said.

That’s the reason Titan Coach George Horton considered using a pinch hitter for Hernandez in that situation. “But then we changed our mind because the guy we considered going to [freshman David Bacani] had been hurt and hasn’t had an official time at bat yet. We thought it might be tougher mentally for him.”

Owens had fouled pitches twice trying to bunt, then was hit on a 1-2 pitch by reliever Brad Steele. “That was a huge break for us,” Horton said.

The rally lifted freshman relief pitcher Kirk Saarloos to his first victory despite him giving up a three-run homer to Jason Hill in the seventh. Saarloos stopped Cal on only one hit in the final two innings.

Benny Flores, the Titan starter, gave up seven hits and four runs in six innings, including two runs in the first. One scored on a bad throw to second by Duck after Flores caught a runner off first. Hill, who had four RBIs for the day, singled in the second run.

The Titans took a two-run lead with four runs in the sixth. Fullerton loaded the bases with none out. One run scored on Craig Patterson’s sacrifice fly, and Duck drilled a double through the middle that scored two more runs. Ryan Moore singled in another run.

A throwing error by shortstop Chad Olszanski opened the door to Cal’s four-run seventh. Saarloos replaced Flores with two runners on and walked two consecutive hitters, forcing in a run. Saarloos had a chance to get out of the inning without further damage after a double play, but Hill’s three-run homer put the Bears in the lead.